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Deccan Herald » Edit Page » Detailed Story
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FIRST EDIT
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Piquant situation
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The Supreme Court has taken the middle ground in the Bihar election muddle
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The Supreme Court judgement striking down the May 23 presidential proclamation dissolving the Bihar assembly, terming it as “unconstitutional,” has left egg on the face of the UPA government. The order, quashing the Centre's proclamation on the basis of the Governor's controversial report, followed a bunch of petitions filed by MLAs of the dissolved assembly. The petitioners had challenged the Bihar assembly dissolution, stating that the Governor had acted with a mala fide intention while preparing reports on the basis of which the Centre ordered dissolution. An embarrassed UPA government may now be forced to recall the controversial Governor Buta Singh, especially as the opposition parties can be expected to build up a campaign against his continuance. That the governor must go is imperative, as his subsequent actions have also been equally partisan.
Meanwhile by not reviving the House and thus clearing the way for assembly elections, the apex court has left behind a piquant situation. Although it has criticised the central government on its action, the five-member bench has allowed the elections to go on, probably taking into account developments on the ground. While examining the legality of the act of the governor in leading to dissolution of the Bihar assembly, the Supreme Court had admited that it was in “virgin territory”, as the Bihar assembly had not been convened nor were MLAs administered the oath after a poll that gave a fractured verdict. The only precedents the apex court had were SC rulings in the S R Bommai case in 1994, the Kihoto Hollohon case in 1992 and the Rajasthan case in 1977. All these cases involved dismissal of existing executive governments on the recommendations of governors for imposition of President's rule under Article 356 of the Constitution.
The apex court apparently considered itself on a sticky wicket as the Constitution bars the courts from interfering in the election process. The election process has already begun in Bihar and logically election petitions are entertained only after the results are declared. Once a notification is issued, the successive stages of the election process are supposed to roll like a ‘‘juggernaut’’ according to another SC verdict in the Mohinder Singh Gill case. The certainty of the election process is an essential ingredient of a free and fair election. However the Supreme court could have adopted a harsh precedent in the Bihar issue.
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Saturday, October 8, 2005
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