PANAJI
The Bombay High Court at Goa on Tuesday began the final hearing in the disqualification petition filed by the Congress challenging the decision of Goa Speaker Rajesh Patnekar dismissing the disqualification petitions the party had filed against the ten MLAs who switched from the Congress to BJP mid-term claiming impunity from the anti-defection law since two-thirds of the legislators were switching sides.
Arguing the case for the Congress, Adv Vivek Tankha, a Rajya Sabha MP, said that the Speaker’s decision was “contrary to the aims and objectives of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India i.e prevention of defection.”
“For a valid merger under the Tenth Schedule, a twin test is required to be satisfied i.e. firstly there must be a decision of the original political party to be merged and secondly 2/3rd of legislative members should agree to such merger. A legislative party by itself cannot merge the political party. There is no concept of merger of a legislature party in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution,” Adv Tankha argued.
“The interpretation given by the speaker defeats the very purpose of the Tenth Schedule which was enacted in the year 1985 and thereafter strengthened by an amendment in the year 2003,” he added.
Adv Tankha said that the 10 defected MLAs in their response to the disqualification petition has not even pleaded that there was a merger of the original political party and therefore there was no question of any valid merger in terms of para four of Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
The arguments on behalf of the Congress (petitioner) and the Goa Forward Party (intervenors) concluded before the bench of Justice Manish Pitale and R N Ladda.
The matter has now been kept for hearing on February 4 for the Speaker to defend his order.
