New Delhi: The Supreme Court, which resumed the hearing on the plea for immediate floor test in Madhya Pradesh Assembly, on Thursday said that the Governor was within his rights to ask for a trust vote if a government lost its majority while the state assembly is not in session.
The plea was filed by former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who pressed for an immediate floor test against Kamal Nath government, which he claimed had lost majority after the resignation of some Congress MLAs.
Right at the beginning of the hearing, the Apex Court asked Speaker Prajapathi to interact with the rebel Congress MLAs through video link or the court can appoint an observer to allay the fear that the legislators are in captivity.
“We can appoint an observer to Bengaluru or some other place so that the rebel MLAs can connect with the Speaker through video conferencing after which he can decide,” a bench comprising Justices DY Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta said.
However, the Speaker refused to accept the top court’s proposal.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Speaker, asked for two weeks time to decide on resignation of rebel MLAs.
On behalf of the Speaker, Singhvi said that the Governor has three powers- summon, prorogue and dissolve the house. He cannot decide whether government has lost majority or not, it’s the House that decides.
Responding to this, the SC did not just uphold the right of the Governor to direct the Speaker to hold Trust Votes, but also said that weeks are gold mines for horse-trading.
“It is why the court has been proactive in ordering the floor tests,” the Court said adding that when the assembly is prorogued and a government loses its majority, Governor then can call the assembly.
“Since not allowing this would mean a government in minority to continue,” said the judges.
The BJP has 107 seats in the Madhya Pradesh assembly, which now has an effective strength of 222. The majority mark is 112.
