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MLAs’ disqualification case: Hearing adjourned to February 13
The present AIADMK government is illegal as it is functioning without a majority remained at the root of the arguments that transpired at the Madras High Court on Wednesday.
By
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migrator
Chennai
The arguments pertained to a batch of writ petitions including the non-action of the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker against Deputy Chief Minister O Paneerselvam and 11 MLAs for voting against the Government whip.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose, on heeding to the time sought by senior counsel C S Vaidyanathan appearing on behalf of OPS to file a reply to all the petitions lying before it, adjourned the case to February 13 before directing the counsel to file their replies before February 5.
Earlier, Supreme Court lawyer Kapil Sibal appearing on behalf of DMK whip Chakarapani, said the inaction of the Speaker is mala fide as he had not even issued notice to the MLAs who had voted against the Government, while 18 MLAs were disqualified for handing over a letter to the Governor.
Pointing out that politics can be in chaos but not the Constitution, he said the Speaker has not even issued notice to them in accordance with provisions of 10th Schedule of the Constitution and Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules 1986 for defying the party-line whip issued by the Chief Government Whip S. Rajendran.
However, senior counsel Vaidyanathan appearing for OPS submitted that DMK’s plea was not maintainable as the High Court cannot direct the Speaker to either issue notice or direct him to act.
He said the High Court is at liberty to subject the Speaker’s decision for judicial scrutiny and that a full bench of the Supreme court is already seized of the issue. But when Vaidyanathan sought time to reply, Kapil Sibal pointed out that the case was transferred from a single bench to a division bench on September 2.
But failure to prepare reply all this while was unacceptable and stressed that he was willing to argue the case since there can’t be any further delay in allowing an illegal government to continue.
The batch of cases that is being heard along with the one moved by the DMK whip included a plea seeking disqualification of OPS and others for defying the Government whip based on their March 20, 2017, complaint, while another quo warranto sought OPS and K Pandiarajan to explain as to how they were holding ministerial berths when they ought to have been disqualified the moment they had voted against the Government whip.
The privilege notice issued to 21 DMK MLAs for displaying banned Gutkha sachets and a DMK plea seeking to hold the floor test also formed part of the batch.
Gutkha scam case put off to January 23
Even as the Income Tax (I-T) department has informed the Madras High Court that it had recovered a ‘secret letter’ regarding the multi-crore gutkha scam from V K Sasikala’s room at the Poes Garden residence of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, the case has been adjourned to January 23.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose who were scheduled to hear the case at a special sitting at 3.30 pm on Wednesday adjourned the case without holding a sitting. The ‘secret letter’ contained information about the alleged bribe paid to Health Minister C. Vijaya Baskar, the then Commissioner of Police and others by Madhava Rao, a partner of a gutkha manufacturing firm (MDM), to carry on the illegal sale of banned tobacco products in Chennai. The I-T Department’s submission was made in a counter affidavit filed in response to a public interest litigation petition filed by the DMK. Following the I-T affidavit, senior counsel P. Wilson had obtained the urgent hearing on submitting that the counter affidavit nailed their claim of Ministers and police officers having been bribed by the gutkha manufacturers. The DMK has been seeking the constitution of a Special Investigation Team headed by a retired high court judge, to probe into the pan masala / gutkha scam.
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