Fate of motion to remove U'khand Speaker to depend on SC's verdict

The fate of Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, who had disqualified nine rebel Congress MLAs including ex-Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, would be dependent on the judgement on pleas challenging his action to disqualify the lawmakers, now BJP members, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday. The caveat came in the order of the bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and R F Nariman

which also refused to grant any interim relief to the rebel MLAs who had sought a stay on their disqualification and permission to participate in the Assembly session starting July 21 at Dehradun. The motion to remove the Speaker was moved by then nine rebel Congress MLAs and BJP lawmakers on March 18 and a day after, the Speaker slapped them with disqualification notices.

The bench, which also made clear that it did not intend to interfere with the business of the Assembly, said that if the motion is taken up by the House and voted upon then it's fate would be "subject to adjudication" of rebels' pleas against the Nainital High Court order upholding their disqualification by the Speaker. 

"We are inclined to state that if the motion that was moved by the petitioners (rebel MLAs and BJP MLAs) for removal of the Speaker is taken up anytime in Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly, the same shall be subject to final adjudication of the SLPs and all the issues raised in the petition including the jurisdictional issue are kept open," it said. 

The rebels, also including Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, filed a plea in their pending appeal seeking a stay on the Speaker's decision to disqualify them by relying on the recent historic judgement in the Arunachal Pradesh case which has held that the Speaker, facing motion for removal, cannot disqualify lawmakers who are part of the motion. 

Referring to para 175 of the landmark verdict of the Supreme Court, re-installing the Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh, senior advocate C A Sundaram, appearing for the rebel MLAs, said that Article 179 (c) of the Constitution disentitles the Speaker against whom a resolution for removal is pending from disqualifying any member of the House.