Speaker moves SC against order stalling proceedings

CP Joshi says HC order violates legal principles

NEW DELHI/JAIPUR: The Supreme Court will hear on Thursday a plea by the speaker of Rajasthan legislative assembly, CP Joshi, challenging the July 21 order of the Rajasthan high court asking him to defer till July 24, action on notices he issued to Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress legislators, as the first step in their disqualification process.

Joshi said in his plea that the high court order restraining the speaker of the assembly from continuing with disqualification proceedings is in violation of settled legal principles and an intrusion into the exclusive domain of the speaker.

“The Supreme Court has a duty to ensure that the all the authorities under the Constitution exercise their jurisdiction within the boundaries and respective ‘Lakshman Rekha’ envisaged by the Constitution itself. Judiciary was never expected under the 10th schedto

ule to interfere in the manner it has done in the instant case resulting in this constitutional impasse,” the plea filed through advocate Sunil Fernandes said.

“We need to see if a mere show-cause notice (issued to the MLAS) on a petition (submitted by chief whip Mahesh Joshi) is

beyond the speaker’s authority,” Joshi said earlier in the day in a press conference in Jaipur, during which he said he would approach the apex court.

Meanwhile, Pilot and the 18 MLAS also filed a caveat before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, which means they will have be heard by the Supreme Court before any order can be passed.

“The law on this aspect is settled since a long time. In 1992, a five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court in Kihoto Hollohan’s case upheld the validity of the 10th Schedule (which deals with disqualification of law makers for defection) of the Constitution and said that courts cannot pass any stay order on proceedings before the speaker,” Fernandes said.

The order of Rajasthan high court stays the disqualification proceedings before the speaker, which is in conflict with the Kihoto judgment and, hence, we have approached the Supreme Court to stay the high court order”, he added.

That case stemmed from disqualification of some MLAS of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly and crystallised many principles regarding the powers of the speaker.