Defection case: SC notices to Speaker, eight legislators

Staff Reporter

Panaji 

The Supreme Court in the matter related to the defection of eight MLAs on Friday issued notices to the respondents, the Speaker of Goa legislative assembly and the legislators, in a petition filed by Congress leader Girish Chodankar challenging the verdict of the High Court of Bombay at Goa that had upheld the order of the Speaker dismissing his petition to disqualify the eight MLAs.

The question of law raised in the petition is that whether two thirds majority of a legislature party constitutes a valid merger within the meaning of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution without the consent of the original political party on whose symbol the individuals stood elected.

Chodankar’s petition was listed before the top court on Friday.

After some arguments, the SC bench observed that the matter required consideration.

In view of the same, the Chief Justice of India directed notices to be issued to the eight MLAs and the Speaker of the Goa legislative assembly to respond to Chodankar’s petition.

Upon further being apprised that an identical question of law is pending adjudication before the Supreme Court in SLP (C) 5305 of 2022 (which was also filed by Girish Chodankar in the respect of defection in the seventh Goa legislative assembly against 10 MLAs led by Chandrakant ‘Babu’ Kavalekar), the apex court directed that Chodankar’s present petition be tagged and heard along with the earlier petition.

The SC also granted liberty to Chodankar to file an application seeking early hearing of SLP (C) 5305 of 2022 which will now be heard along with the present petition.

Responding to this petition, Chodankar said, “It is the need of the hour that this practice of horse trading under the pretext of a merger is stopped and anti-defection law is strengthened to prevent future misuse. We hope and pray that the Supreme Court puts a quietus to this issue by passing a landmark verdict, and settling the law of the land in this regard.”

State legislative assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar had dismissed the disqualification petition filed by Chodankar against the eight Congress MLAs who had joined the BJP, thus approving the ‘merger’ of these MLAs into the BJP.

Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rodolfo Fernandes, and Rajesh Faldesai are the eight legislators, whose disqualification was sought by the petitioner.

Dismissing the disqualification plea, the Speaker had ruled that “upon the merger of the original political party of the elected member with another political party, the elected member will not face disqualification in either contingency i.e. whether he chooses to go with the merger or disagrees with the same”.

“Disqualification on the ground of defection will not apply in the case of merger,” he had added.