SC notice to Rajasthan Assembly Speaker on plea against merger of BSP MLAs in Congress

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and K M Joseph issued notice also to Assembly Secretary, and 6 MLAs on plea challenging validity of Rajasthan HC order

The Supreme Court on Thursday sought a response from the Rajasthan Assembly Speaker C P Joshi on a plea by the Bahujan Samaj Party against merger of six of its MLAs into the ruling Congress party, giving strength to the Ashok Gehlot government.

A bench of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and K M Joseph issued notice also to Assembly Secretary, and six MLAs on the petition challenging validity of the Rajasthan HC order of August 24, 2020.

Senior advocate Satish Chandra Mishra, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that the Speaker could not have passed an order approving the merger.

The HC had then held that the order by the Speaker passed on September 18, 2019 was an 'administrative one' and not an order adjudicating the claim of the merger.

The BSP questioned the Speaker's order whereby the benefit of the Tenth Schedule was granted to the party MLAs without deciding upon disqualification petitions against them. It also sought interim stay on the HC's order as well as that of the Speaker.

It claimed the HC did not consider the fact that the Speaker passed the order in violation of principle of natural justice without issuing notice to the party.

"The order of the Speaker accepting the claim of merger giving the benefit of para 4(2) of the Tenth Schedule, amounts to putting the cart before the horse by providing the defence in the hands of defectors in advance for being used by them as and when the application for disqualification is filed," the plea stated.

Six MLAs Rajendra Singh Gudha, Lakhan Singh Karaul, Deep Chand, Joginder Singh Awana, Sandeep Kumar and Wajid Ali had merger with the Congress party, elected on BSP ticket had on September 16, 2019 filed an application with the Speaker stating that they had merged with the Congress party. The Speaker accepted the merger two days later on September 18, 2019.