E-Paper
Jharkhand trust vote on March 11
Ruling on ex-CM Munda's petition, SC said no Anglo-Indian member would be nominated to the House till March 11.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered that the floor test in the Jharkhand Assembly be held on March 11 instead of March 15 as scheduled.
The court also came down heavily on Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi for committing a "fraud" on the constitution by swearing in Shibu Soren as the state's Chief Minister.
The court also said no Anglo-Indian member would be nominated till the floor test takes place.
A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice RC Lahoti said the agenda in the assembly on March 11 would be to have a floor test between the contesting political groups to see which of the two claimants - Shibu Soren and Arjun Munda - command majority in the House.
It also directed the Pro Tem Speaker to report the outcome of the floor test faithfully to the court.
The order of the court shall constitute the notice required for convening the Assembly on March 11 and no separate notice for the purpose would be required, the court directed.
The court directed the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Jharkhand to see that all elected MLAs attend the assembly and cast their vote safely, freely and securely.
They also directed these two authorities to see that nobody influences the proceedings of the house on March 11.
The court said it is passing this interim order as its petitioner Munda has made out a strong prima facie case by pointing out the manner, in which Soren has been appointed as Chief Minister.
