SC to hear on May 6 rebel AIADMK MLAs' pleas
They pointed out that on April 30, the DMK, the main Opposition party, had served notice of no confidence against the Speaker.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear on Monday (May 6) writ petitions filed by two dissenting AIADMK MLAs, seeking a direction to restrain the Tamil Nadu Speaker from passing orders to disqualify them from the Assembly.
A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta told senior counsel Kapil Sibal, who mentioned for early listing, that the petitions would be posted for hearing on May 6. Mr Sibal told the court that there was an apprehension that the Spe-aker would disqualify the petitioners who were served with show-cause notice returnable on M-ay 6 as to why they sh-ould not be disqualified.
The petitioners, V.T. Kalaiselvan and Ratnasabapathy, who belonged to AIADMK, submitted that the Speaker on April 29 issued a notice to them seeking their response by May 6 and they apprehended that the Speaker would disqualify them on that date even without waiting for their reply to theshow-cause notice.
They pointed out that on April 30, the DMK, the main Opposition party, had served notice of no confidence against the Speaker. While on one hand, the Speaker is acting in utmost haste in issuing notices and disqualifying legislators, however, he has failed to even issue notice till date, i.e. after the lapse of two years, to the deputy chief minister of Tamil Nadu and 10 other MLAs despite the fact that they voted against the confidence motion moved by their own party and voted contrary to the directions issued to them, they added.
They cited a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, which held that the action of the Speaker in continuing, with one or more disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule, whilst a notice of resolution for his own removal, from the office of Speaker is pending, would "appear" to be unfair.