Karnataka floor test: SC turns down Cong plea on pro tem Speaker

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 19

The Supreme Court on Saturday rejected the Congress-JD-S combine’s petition challenging Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to appoint BJP MLA KG Bopaiah as pro tem speaker of the assembly to conduct the floor test at 4 pm.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice AK Sikri said there was no illegality involved in Bopaiah’s appointment as pro tem speaker.

The Bench ordered that no issue, except the floor test, would be taken up by the assembly.

The proceedings are to be video-recorded and telecast live. In fact, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented Karnataka, made a statement that the proceedings would be video-recorded.

During the hearing, Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi raised questions over Bopaiah’s appointment and pointed out that he was not the senior-most MLA. His appointment was against well-established parliamentary norms, they said.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing BS Yeddyurappa, termed the Congress-JD-S combine’s petition as political posturing.

The Bench--which also included Justice SA Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan--said if the petition against Bopaiah’s appointment as pro tem Speaker had to be entertained then he had to be issued notice and the floor test deferred. It said such convention was not law.

In their petition, the Congress-JD-S combine had said: “In the peculiar facts and circumstances, it is submitted that videography of the floor test may be absolutely necessary for a free and fair floor test,” the petition stated and demanded urgent listing and hearing of the matter.

The Congress-JD-S combine had also demanded that voting to be “done by a division of persons into separate and segregated lobbies so that the persons in the different lobbies can be counted in a transparent manner” as the atmosphere was vitiated.

“No other power to be exercised by the pro tem speaker except administering oath and conduct of the floor test,” the petitioners had demanded, apprehending that the pro tem speaker could resort to powers of disqualification under the Tenth Schedule.

Seeking setting aside the appointment of Bopaiah as the pro tem speaker, the petition had urged the top court to issue order appointing the senior-most MLA of Karnataka Legislative Assembly as the pro tem speaker.

It had also demanded that the proceedings be videographed and a copy of the video recording be submitted to the top court.