Supreme Court quashes suspension of 12 BJP MLAs. The apex court, while ruling, said it was not within the purview of the House to suspend MLAs for more than one session for misconduct. Twelve BJP MLAs were suspended for a year for insulting and pushing the table president during a rainy session in July.
The 12 suspended MLAs had approached the apex court, saying the suspension was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court finally revoked the suspension. Therefore, BJP MLAs have got great relief and this is considered as a blow for Mahavikas Aghadi. Now there is a discussion about what Mahavikas Aghadi and the Thackeray government will do next.
The Supreme Court Decision Final
Government ministers have said that the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly will give the final decision after the Supreme Court’s decision.
Speaking on the occasion, NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik said, “The decision to suspend the MLAs was not taken by the government but by the legislature.”
But can the legislature exercise certain privileges even after a Supreme Court decision?
Malik says, “The decision of the apex court is correct. Because even though the legislature has the power to suspend MLAs for misconduct, the basic principles need to be considered during the suspension. There is nothing that the legislature can do after this decision.”
Former Advocate General of the State Shrihari Ane also has the same opinion in this regard. BBC Marathi asked him the same question.
“The Supreme Court has quashed the decision of suspension taken by the legislature. The period of absence of an MLA in the House cannot be more than 60 days. This rule has also been violated,” the court said.
“In it, the Supreme Court raised several issues regarding the basic structure and said that the suspension for 1 year was done illegally. Therefore, the legislature can do nothing in this decision. The legislature must accept the Supreme Court’s decision.”
Commenting on the decision, Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis said, “Today, the Supreme Court has ruled that anti-democratic, illegal, illegal and unjustifiable forms are never tolerated in a democracy.”
What Did The Supreme Court Say?
The court ruled that the suspension should be for the rainy season only. During the hearing in the case, the court said that there should be a solid reason for the one-year suspension and for the member not to be able to attend the next session as well.
The court also observed that such suspension could not be for more than 6 months, so it was unconstitutional. An MLA has been given a limit of 60 days to be absent from the House. If it is crossed, the space becomes empty. The court also said that the limit was violated.
How long can a seat remain vacant? There may be a maximum limit of 6 months. But we are talking about the parliamentary constituency of democracy. So if 12 constituencies are not represented, then isn’t this a blow to the basic structure? This question was raised by the bench.
The decision to suspend can only be for 6 months, after which it can be declared unconstitutional, the court said.
The bench also took cognisance of the arguments of advocate Aryama Sundaram. He had argued that the House had the power to make rules regarding the period of suspension of members.
Although the rules of the House are in line with the Constitution, the maximum period can be 6 months, the court said.
The court ruled that the suspension was worse than the decision to cancel the membership because, during this period, no one could represent the constituency concerned.
BJP MLA Ashish Shelar welcomed the Supreme Court verdict. Reacting to this, he criticised the Mahavikas Aghadi government.
He said, “We will not tolerate illegal work. The 12 MLAs appointed by the governor have nothing to do with it.” Even so, he clarified.
Bhaskar Jadhav, who was the table chairman at the time of the suspension decision, has responded that the legislature has the power to suspend. He said, “Democracy has a tradition of mutual respect. The BJP had also suspended us. I want to ask the BJP and the court, what do you think about the fact that the governor has not yet appointed 12 MLAs.”
The final decision is of the Speaker of the Assembly, Nawab Malik. After receiving the copy of this result from the Legislative Secretariat, the Speaker of the Assembly will take the final decision.