His Excellency’s Ruling

HIS Excellency’s ruling on the subject of the position of a minority in relation to the report of the majority of a select committee is of some importance. The question, as our readers are aware, arose in the connection with the refusal of Pandit Malavya, and Messrs. Patel and Khaparde to sign the select committee's report on the Rowlatt Bill and the ruling of the chairman of the select committee that by this refusal they forfeited their right to submit minutes of dissent. At the Council itself the question was raised or rather proposed to be raised by Messrs. Khaparde and Patel by means of a number of amendments questioning the validity of the committee's report on the ground that it did not contain either their signatures or minutes of dissent. The Viceroy ruled that the chairman was justified in giving the ruling he had done, that in consequence the report was valid, and, therefore, the amendments of the two members must be ruled out of order.