K’taka crisis: Congress, JD(S) move Supreme Court for clarification of its July 17 order

Even as the Congress and JD (S) petitioned the Supreme Court to clarify its order passed on Wednesday allowing 15 Karnataka MLAs the freedom to abstain from the House, the Karnataka Governor issued a fresh deadline, asking the Speaker to complete the floor test by 6 pm on Friday.

While the Governor appeared to be building up a case of a Constitutional crisis and point to the Speaker defying the deadlines given by the Raj Bhavan, opinion is divided on whether the Governor can issue such directions once the Assembly starts its proceedings. Experts point out that once the proceedings of the House begin, the Speaker alone has the authority and jurisdiction to decide how to proceed in accordance with the rules.

Congress & the JD(S) moved separate petitions on Friday seeking clarification of the Supreme Court’s July 17 order and argued that “any interpretation of the said order which whittles down the power of a political party to issue a whip would be in the teeth of the provisions of Tenth Schedule & the judgment of SC Constitution Bench”

But as the Governor’s deadline approached, speculation was rife over the possibility of the Governor dismissing the Congress-JD(S) coalition Government, administering the oath of office to BJP leader Yeddyurappa and allow him time to prove his majority on the floor of the House. While a far-fetched possibility that the experts deny is possible, the fact that the Governor has thought it fit to issue not one but two deadlines on a single day point to some method in the madness.

Both Congress and the JD(S), in their petitions to the Supreme Court on Friday, have argued that by allowing 15 MLAs to stay away from the House, the apex court had infringed upon the right of the political parties to issue whips under the tenth schedule of the Constitution.

The petitions also point out that while the apex court’s order had an impact on the two parties, they were not heard by the Supreme Court and nor were they party to the proceedings before it. They have also asked the Supreme Court to clarify whether a floor test can be held by keeping a part of the Constitution (Tenth Schedule dealing with defections) in abeyance.

Finally, the petitions sought a clarification on the doctrine of separation of power, which is deemed to be a basic feature of the Constitution, under which the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary are not expected to encroach into each other’s jurisdiction. Asking in essence if the Supreme Court and the Governor can issue directions to the Speaker.

Congress had earlier pointed out that , “ After Goa, Manipur, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir, the state of Karnataka is the latest in a series of states that have fallen victim to the BJP’s self-serving philosophy. These are states (with the exception of Uttarakhand where the BJP was exposed by this very Supreme Court) where the majority of the state’s residents decisively rejected the BJP but had BJP Governments thrust upon them against their will. These were all attempts to usurp power regardless of the public’s mandate and the Constitution. This is the very opposite of a democratic process.”