New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Friday delivered a verdict that granted new legitimacy to those within the BJP who have been demanding that a new Chief Minister be appointed to replace Mr Yeddyurappa.
In October last year, Mr Yeddyurappa had to prove his government had not been reduced to a minority. The BJP was besieged by internal dissent and a group of MLAs wanted to vote against Mr Yeddyurappa. Ahead of the trust vote, the Speaker of the Assembly disqualified 16 MLAs - 11 from the BJP and five independents - under anti-defection laws. With their removal, Mr Yeddyurappa just about survived his vote of confidence.
The apex court also made some strong observations about the role of the Speaker and the Chief Minister in the process of disqualification.
"Extraneous considerations are writ large on the face of the order of the Speaker and the same has to be set aside. The Speaker, in our view, proceeded in the matter as if he was required to meet the deadline set by the Governor, irrespective of whether, in the process, he was ignoring the constitutional norms set out in the Tenth Schedule and the Disqualification Rules, 1986, and in contravention of the basic principles that go hand in hand with the concept of a fair hearing," the court said.
"There was no compulsion on the Speaker to decide the disqualification application filed by Mr. Yeddyurappa in such a great hurry within the time specified by the Governor to conduct a vote of confidence in the government headed by Mr. Yeddyurappa. It would appear that such a course of action was adopted by the Speaker on October 10, 2010, since the vote of confidence was slated for October 12, 2010. The element of hot haste is also evident in the action of the Speaker. The procedure adopted by the Speaker seems to indicate that he was trying to meet the time schedule set by the Governor for the trial of strength and to ensure that the appellants and other independent MLAs stood disqualified prior to the date on which the floor test was to be held," the court added.