Oppn may rely on 5 judgments where top court set deadlines for floor tests

SHIV SENA, CONGRESS AND NCP APPROACHED THE SUPREME COURT ON SATURDAY, CHALLENGING THE GOVERNOR’S DECISION TO INVITE DEVENDRA FADNAVIS TO FORM THE GOVERNMENT

NEW DELHI: While the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra has been given two weeks to prove its majority on the floor of the house, the Shiv Sena-led Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) alliance is relying on five judgments delivered in the last two decades by the Supreme Court to secure an order for a floor test within 24 hours in the Maharashtra assembly.

The most recent of these is the 2018 Karnataka case, which bears several similarities to the ongoing crisis in Maharashtra, and which was cited by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Indian National Congress.

A joint petition by the Shiv Sena, Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party was filed in the Supreme Court on Saturday, challenging the Maharashtra governor’s decision inviting Fadnavis to form the government.

In the Karnataka case, following a dispute over who had the numbers in the assembly, the Congress approached the Supreme Court alleging partisanship on the part of Karnataka governor in inviting the

BJP’s BS Yediyurappa to form the government. It was the case of the Congress that the governor had not made sure that Yediyurappa had the numbers he claimed.

The court then held that the matter could only be resolved by a floor test and ordered that it be conducted in 24 hours.

In their order, the three-judge bench of justices A S Sikri, SA Bobde and Ashok Bhushan said: “In a matter like this, detailed hearing is required in order to decide as to whether action of the Governor in inviting respondent no.3 (BJP) to form the Government was valid in law or not. Since it may consume substantial time and the final decision cannot be given immediately, we deem it proper that Floor Test to ascertain the majority of one or the other group is conducted immediately and without any delay. Though the Governor in his letter dated 16.05.2018 inviting respondent no.3 to form the Government has given him 15 days’ time for proving the majority on the floor of the House, having regard to all the circumstances of this case, we are of the view that such a Floor Test be conducted tomorrow itself i.e. on 19.05.2018.”

Similarly, in the 2017 case regarding the Goa assembly, the Congress attacked the Goa governor’s decision to invite the BJP to form the government. The action was challenged in the Supreme Court. Here again, a three-judge bench of justices JS Kehar, Ranjan Gogoi and RK Agarwal order a floor test within 48 hours.

The court said: “We were satisfied, that the instant sensitive and contentious issue raised on behalf of the petitioner, can be resolved by a simple direction, requiring the holding of a floor test at the earliest. The holding of the floor test would remove all possible ambiguities, and would result in giving the democratic process, the required credibility. We request the Governor of the State of Goa to ensure, that a floor test is held on 16.03.2017, and the only agenda for the day would be, the holding of a floor test to determine whether the Chief Minister administered the oath of office, has support of the majority.”

The order of the Supreme Court was delivered on March 14 and the floor test held on March 16.

In the 2016 Uttrakhand case, the Supreme Court, on May 9, 2017 passed an order directing a floor test in 24 hours.

In the current case, the SenaNCP-Congress alliance is also relying on a 2005 Jharkhand case of Anil Kumar Jha versus Union of India, where, again, the Supreme Court ordered that a floor test be held within 48 hours to establish who had the numbers in the Jharkhand Assembly.

The court has been remarkably consistent in this. Even in 1998, in the case involving Jagadambika Pal , a SC bench gave 48 hours for a floor-test in the Uttar Pradesh assembly.

“In the last 20 years the Supreme Court, has, at least on five occasions, ruled in favour of a quick floor test. So its kind of a settled question that floor test is the only way to determine as to who has the numbers in the house,” said Supreme Court advocate Vipalav Sharma.