Speaker poll PIL: Deposit Rs 2 lakh, Bombay HC tells petitioner

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Monday asked a petitioner to deposit Rs 2 lakh if he wants the court to hear his public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the amendment to the rules and procedure for election of speaker to the Maharashtra legislative assembly, as the state has opposed its maintainability. The petitioner, Janak Vyas, agreed to make the deposit.
The state has proposed to hold the speaker post election on March 9 and has sought the governor’s nod.The PIL claimed that the amendments made last December after the proposed changes suggested by the rules committee to Rules 6 and 7 of the MLA Rules for the election of speaker and deputy speaker respectively, are “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional”.
State advocate general Ashutosh Kumbhakoni raised a preliminary issue of maintainability before a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand S Karnik. On being asked by the court why it should entertain the PIL, the petitioner’s counsel, Abhinav Chandrachud, cited Article 212 of the Constitution and said the issue raised in the petition was not adversarial, but inquisitorial in nature and the HC would have the power to hear it. He added that the issue is that the amendment to the 1960 rules now allows the CM alone to advise the governor on the date of the speaker’s poll as opposed to the governor acting on the advice of the council of ministers. Chandrachud cited the Emergency which was imposed without the council of ministers’ advice and in 1978, the 44th am-endment to the Constitution had ensured that no single person should have that much power to singly advise the governor or President.
The government said its amendments are in accorda-nce with rules in Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha and legislative assemblies of some states. The PIL, filed through advocate Vishal Acharya, said the speaker’s post was vacant si-nce February 2021 when Nana Patole resigned and became state Congress chief. But according to Rule 9, Narhari Zirwal has been discharging the speaker’s duties, it said.