Will defer K’taka bypolls till SC verdict on 17 MLAS: ECI

NEWDELHI:THE Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday told the Supreme Court it was ready to defer bypolls to the 15 Karnataka assembly constituencies that fell vacant after the lawmakers representing the seats were disqualified under the antidefection law in July by the then assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar.

ECI’S representation came six days after the poll body announced by-elections to the seats on October 21, with the results to be announced three days later, and set September 30 as the last day for filing nominations. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll body, said it will defer the elections and wait for the top court’s final verdict on petitions filed by 17 rebel MLAS who were disqualified and barred from contesting elections for the duration of the term of the state assembly that ends in 2023. “After studying the Order of Hon’ble Supreme Court and after taking feedback from Learned Senior Counsel of the ECI, the ECI shall take immediate consequential steps in the matter concerning scheduled byepoll to the Legislative Assembly of Karnataka,” said an EC official with kowledge of the matter.

Dwivedi said if ECI has the authority to announce the bypolls, it is also empowered to defer them - a submission that experts described as “unprecedented” . The MLAS were disqualified after they resigned on the grounds that they had lost confidence in the 14-month-old HD Kumaraswamy-led Janata Dal (Secular)-congress coalition government, enabling the BJP to stake its claim for power and form a government led by BS Yedyurappa. Following Dwivedi’s assurance, the three-judge bench of justices N V Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari set October 22 as the next date of hearing. Sibal also said he had no objection if the polls are deferred.

On Wednesday, the 15 rebel MLAS had sought an interim order from the bench, asking it to defer the by-elections proposed for October 21.

The petitioners have argued that the action of the Speaker was “arbitrary” and “unreasonable”, because they never defected from the Congress to another party, but resigned from the assembly and were willing to go back to the electorate. The anti-defection law, since 2003, has barred legislators from switching parties unless they are part of a breakaway group of at least two-thirds of the members of the party in the assembly. Criticizing ECI’S stand in the court, Supreme Court senior advocate Sanjay Hegde said, “This is an unprecedented move by ECI. It would definitely not have been taken a stand like this in the days of [former chief election commissioners TN] Seshan and [JM] Lyngdoh. In fact, EC whenever it has notified elections, has resisted any interference by the court.”

The decision was welcomed by both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the Janata Dal (Secular) expressed misgivings on the development.

Dinesh Gundu Rao, the president of the Karnataka state Congress, also slammed the ECI stance. “The election has been notified and filing of nomination has also begun, Why are they now saying that they will postpone the by-elections?” he asked.

BC Patil, who was formerly an MLA of the Congress, said the decision was timely. “I welcome this because the Speaker’s order disqualifying us was contrary to the law,” he said. “The SC decision is just because if polls are held and we are reinstated the constituency will have two elected legislators and this would have created a Constitutional crisis,” he added. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appeared for the present speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, supported the disqualified MLAS.

THE POLL BODY ANNOUNCED THAT THE BYPOLLS WOULD BE HELD ON OCTOBER 21, AND THE LAST DATE FOR NOMINATIONS WOULD BE SEPTEMBER 30