E-Paper
SC backs MP guv’s order for floor test by Kamal Nath govt
Kamal Nath resigned as Madhya Pradesh chief minister on March 20 two hours before a floor test in the state assembly on the directions of the Supreme Court that his government looked set to lose following the rebellion of 22 Congress lawmakers.
New Delhi: The law must be strengthened to curb the increasing trend of the breakdown in the composition and allegiances of the political parties due to private allurements as opposed to public policy considerations, the Supreme Court said on Monday while upholding Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon’s direction in March for holding a floor test in the state assembly.
Kamal Nath resigned as Madhya Pradesh chief minister on March 20 two hours before a floor test in the state assembly on the directions of the Supreme Court that his government looked set to lose following the rebellion of 22 Congress lawmakers.
Tandon had earlier written to Nath on March 14 directing that a floor test be held on March 16. When the House was convened on March 16, the speaker adjourned it till March 26 citing the coronavirus threat without holding the floor test. The Bharatiya Janata Pary then moved the apex court submitting Nath government had lost majority in the assembly. The Congress, in a counter-petition, said the floor test can happen only when all the elected lawmakers are present in the assembly. It argued that a governor can order a floor test only when the House is not in session. If the House is in session, the only remedy is to seek a motion of no confidence, the Congress said.
The top court on Monday turned down this argument saying a governor can exercise his power and direct a floor test even if the House is in session. “The governor is not denuded of the power to order a floor test where on the basis of the material available to the governor it becomes evident that the issue as to whether the government commands the confidence of the house requires to be assessed on the basis of a floor test,” the court said in its order. It added such a decision is subject to judicial review.
The top court’s observation related to the composition of political parties came in relation to the submissions made by the Congress alleging that the 22 of its lawmakers were taken away to Bengaluru and that it faced resistance when it tried to contact them. “The law may have to evolve to address these burgeoning evils,” it said.
The court referred to the spectacle of rival political parties whisking away their political flock to safe destinations and added it is best that courts maintain an arm‘s length from the “sordid tales of political life”. It added it must be conscious of the position on the ground and an effort has to be made to the extent possible to ensure that democratic values prevail. “It is an unfortunate reflection on the confidence which political parties hold in their own constituents and a reflection of what happens in the real world of politics…Poaching is an expression which was bandied about on both sides of the debate in the present case,”
The top court had on March 19 ordered that a floor test should be held but had not given any reasons for that order.
Its Monday’s order explained in detail the rationale behind the top court’s order of March 19. The court ruled a governor of a state is empowered to order a floor test if he/she has reasons to believe that the council of ministers headed by the chief minister has lost the confidence of the house.
This power can be exercised by a governor at any time during a “running assembly”, that is when the House is in session, a bench of justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta held, reaffirming its order passed on March 19 asking Nath to prove his majority. “The governor in calling for a floor test cannot be construed to have acted beyond the bounds of constitutional authority.”
