Chennai, Oct 10:
The Supreme Court on Friday declined to entertain a petition challenging the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker’s decision to drop disqualification proceedings against 21 AIADMK MLAs who voted in favour of the TVK government during a confidence motion despite their party whip.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana refused to interfere with the Madras High Court’s dismissal of a public interest litigation filed by P V Selvakumar.
The petitioner challenged the Speaker’s decision, contending that the legislators had violated the party whip by supporting the government during the confidence motion. Advocate Nina Nariman, appearing for Selvakumar, submitted that her client was an AIADMK member and a voter concerned about the conduct of the legislators.
The Bench questioned the petitioner’s locus standi, pointing out that he was neither a legislator nor a representative authorised to pursue disqualification proceedings. Justice Bagchi observed that proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution had to be pursued by a member of the House.
The judge also stressed the need to preserve the sanctity of the constitutional mandate while emphasising the importance of understanding the functioning of a democratic system. The court observed that the AIADMK leadership appeared to have condoned the legislators’ conduct.
The Supreme Court clarified that it was leaving the questions of law open for consideration in an appropriate proceeding. Its refusal to entertain the petition does not amount to a definitive ruling on the legal questions raised concerning the Speaker’s decision.