The dismissal of two disqualification petitions by Goa Legislative Assembly Speaker Rajesh Patnekar comes as no surprise. In the normal course, a Speaker who is aligned to the ruling dispensation is least expected to bring down his government by disqualifying defecting legislators, irrespective of the constitutional validity and the democratic reasoning attached to the case.
What is rather disappointing is the Speaker has only given a one-sentence order leaving everyone clueless on the parameters on which he concluded. The decision to give a plain order at this stage is only an attempt to satisfy the Supreme Court since it is only awaiting the Speaker's decision. Ironically, if the Speaker has delayed, there has been a delay on the part of the Supreme Court too since the matter was pending before it for nearly 20 months. This delay has only given the Speaker the luxury of time he needed.
The disposal of the two petitions could mean a small victory for the petitioners given the fact that it has strategically prevailed upon the office of the Speaker to adjudicate after a delay of over a year-and-half. Although it now gives the petitioners little time to explore further judicial options, the ball remains in the court of the Speaker.
The fact that the Speaker took over 18 months to qualify the legislators in question, and not give a detailed order despite the ample time he had at his disposal only goes to highlight that Patnekar is still playing for time. However, the Speaker’s authority as a constitutional head of the legislative assembly has to be respected irrespective of the leanings, and a detailed order has to be awaited given the fact that there are several grey areas in this sensitive issue of party defections and splits which even the Supreme Court has failed to resolve thus far.
The matter is of utmost significance, politically and otherwise. At a time when defections are being redefined to circumvent the law, this case could signal a new beginning in Goa’s political landscape because a disqualification at this stage would mean that all the 12 legislators would be barred from contesting elections for five years. Time is a crucial component here, and this is where the role of the Speaker comes into focus.
The Speaker has made a strategic move ahead of the Supreme Court hearing, knowing well that the apex court will not get into merits of the order at this stage. With chief justice Sharad Arvind Bobde retiring on Friday, the matter may be heard afresh by a new bench, delaying the process further. Even if the Speaker's verdict is subsequently challenged in the High Court, it would give the government substantial time to reach the finish line of its term.
Now, it’s to be seen whether the Speaker follows up soon with a detailed order, or whether the petitioners will have to move the court to expedite delivery of that order.
