Speaker must be neutral, act independently: SC

The Speaker has to remain neutral and act independently of political morality and pressure, said the Supreme Court, referring to the then Karnataka Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar’s decision to disqualify 17 legislators.

“The only regret this bench has is with respect to the conduct and the manner in which all constitutional functionaries have acted in the current scenario,” Justice N V Ramana wrote in the judgement.

The court said the Speaker’s political affiliations cannot come in the way of adjudication of the matter.

The Speaker has to remain neutral and act independently of political morality and pressure, said the Supreme Court, referring to the then Karnataka Assembly Speaker R Ramesh Kumar's decision to disqualify 17 legislators.

"The only regret this bench has is with respect to the conduct and the manner in which all constitutional functionaries have acted in the current scenario,” Justice N V Ramana wrote in the judgement on petitions filed by disqualified MLAs.

The court said the Speaker's political affiliations cannot come in the way of adjudication of the matter.

"If the Speaker is not able to disassociate from his political party and behaves contrary to the spirit of neutrality and independence, such a person does not deserve to be reposed with public trust and confidence," the bench said.

The court said the Speaker, in the exercise of his powers under the Tenth Schedule, does not have the power to either indicate the period for which a person is disqualified or bar someone from contesting elections.

"We must be careful to remember that the desirability of a particular rule or law should not, in any event, be confused with the question of the existence of the same, and constitutional morality should never be replaced by political morality in deciding what the Constitution mandates," the bench said.

The top court rejected the contention that political exigencies required harsh measures against the rebel MLAs. "Constitutional silences cannot be used to introduce changes of such nature," it said.