Goa Assembly Speaker Agrees To Pass Orders On Disqualification Of 10 MLAs Who Moved From Congress To BJP: SG Tells Supreme Court

Supreme Court has on Tuesday been told that the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly has agreed to pass its final order regarding disqualification of the MLAs who moved from Congress to BJP. A three-judge Bench led by CJI was hearing the plea filed a plea filed by Goa Congress Chief Girish Chodankar seeking for a direction to the Goa Assembly Speaker to dispose of the disqualification proceedings expeditiously. The Court has decided to hear the matter next on 21st April following the Speakers orders on April 20th 2021. Initially the Court was informed by SG Mehta that the orders will be passed by the Speaker on April 29th. However the Court stated that 29th April is not acceptable to the Bench, and the Speaker be asked to dispose it soone "There cannot be such a long delay. After 24th, we cannot hear the matter. 29th April is not acceptable to this Bench." the Bench observed"As Solicitor General you can ask him to dispose it sooner. Do you want a new Bench to hear the matter all over again?" the Bench added Further SG Mehta took instructions and informed the Court that the Speaker was ready to pass orders on 22nd April. However, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal expressed his disapproval with the date and stated that the orders must be passed atleast a week before CJI Bobde is scheduled to remit office on 24th April. He stated that in case the Speaker doesn't pass orders on the said date, he should have enough time to argue on merits.Sibal stated that this is making mockery of the whole procedure. The Court had recorded in its statement in Feb that the Speaker will dispose it off on 26th Feb. He added that even though the orders have been reserved, the Speaker has not pronounced it since 26th Feb till now. The Bench observed that even after being asked again, the Speaker has said he can pass orders only on 22nd April. "We have put it to him, he is saying he'll pass orders on 22nd. We don't know what to do." CJI said.Sibal responded by saying that the Court cannot be helpless in these matters."I won't be able to argue the merits if he doesn't pass order. It's unfair. He hasn't been passing orders!" Sibal said.At this juncture, the Bench asked SG Mehta to get instructions as to whether the Speaker can pass orders on April 20th. SG Mehta informed the Court that the Speaker has agreed to pass orders on 20th April ."My apologies, while representing Constitutional machineries we have to do this." SG said "We are more conscious of this than you are." the Bench respondedThrough the present plea, Girish Chodankar approached the Court submitting that despite express orders from the Supreme Court on 11 August, 2020 that the plea should be listed after two weeks, the plea was not being listed by the Supreme Court Registry. The petition, filed against the Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly and ten MLAs, states that the MLAs had shifted from Congress to BJP. Accordingly, a disqualification petition was filed against them for defection before the Speaker. However, despite the same having been filed in 2019, the plea is yet to be heard. On 11 August, 2020, a Bench headed by CJI Bobde ordered for the listing of the matter after a period of two weeks. Chodankar, the Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President, then approached the Court in November, submitting in his plea that despite being listed in the tentative hearing list 18 times since August 2020, his plea never made it to the final list.

Goa Assembly Speaker Agrees To Pass Orders On Disqualification Of 10 MLAs Who Moved From Congress To BJP: SG Tells Supreme Court

Srishti Ojha

Tags