Plea in SC against change in rules for election of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, deputy Speaker

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court questioning the change in rules, related to the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, saying the amendment would result in selection rather than election.

The petition filed by BJP MLA Girish Dattatraya Mahajan claimed the notification gave arbitrary power to the chief minister to himself decide and recommend the date for the election of the Speaker of state Assembly. However, as per the old rules, the Governor fixed a date for the election of Speaker.

The appeal filed through advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh challenged the Bombay High Court's order of March 9, which dismissed the PIL in this regard.

The petitioner sought a stay on the notification issued by the Maharashtra government on December 23, 2021, saying it arbitrarily and undemocratically changed the procedure of the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, which was in existence since 1960.

The plea said, calling of the election of the Speaker, the head of the Assembly, is the discretion and function of the Governor, on which he is not bound by the aid and advise of the Council of Ministers.

"The election of the Speaker in a state Assembly directly impacts democracy and administration. The Speaker has several powers and duties for the smooth running of such an Assembly, however, if the Speaker himself is elected by undemocratic means then the free and fair functioning of the state Assembly can easily be hampered by the ruling party," the plea said.

The plea also claimed that the selection of the Deputy Speaker with the method enumerated in the notification would lead to favouritism and bias in the House.

“The notification will allow selection of the Deputy Speaker instead of a free and fair election and the same is therefore in clear violation of the Article 178 of the Constitution of India which states that every Legislative Assembly of a state shall choose two members of the assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof," it said.

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