Speakers going against the tide: SC

New Delhi: There is a growing trend of Speakers acting against the "constitutional duty of being neutral" in addition to political parties indulging in horse trading and corrupt practices due to which citizens are being denied stable governments, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday.

A bench of justices N V Ramana, Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari said the Speaker (referring to former Karnataka Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar), being a neutral person, is expected to act independently while conducting the proceedings of the House or adjudication petitions.

The constitutional responsibility endowed upon the Speaker has to be scrupulously followed and his political affiliations cannot come in the way of adjudication, the apex court said. If the Speaker is not able to disassociate from his political party and behaves contrary to the spirit of the neutrality and independence then such person does not deserve to be reposed with public trust and confidence, it added.

"In any case, there is a growing trend of Speakers acting against the constitutional duty of being neutral. Additionally, political parties are indulging in horse trading and corrupt practices, due to which the citizens are denied of stable governments.

"In these circumstances, the Parliament is required to reconsider strengthening certain aspects of the Tenth Schedule, so that such undemocratic practices are discouraged," the bench said.

The 3-judge bench made these observations while upholding the disqualification of 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka on orders of the Speaker, but allowing them to contest the December 5 by-polls in the state. Having a "stricter model" of disqualification for lawmakers who defy the party line will have a chilling effect on legitimate dissent and it cannot be accepted, the Supreme Court said Wednesday.

Karnataka Congress Party had sought directions from the apex court for formulation of a stricter model of disqualification for MLAs who indulge in anti-party activities. A 3-judge bench said it does not subscribe to such an extreme stand, considering that it could have a chilling effect on legitimate dissent.

"In any case, such a change in the policy cannot be looked into by this court, as the same squarely falls within the legislative forte. Any attempt to interfere is better termed as reconstruction, which falls beyond the scope of legal interpretation by the courts," the bench said.

The Karnataka Congress Party had contended that the court should consider desirability of having a stricter model of disqualification wherein a person who has jumped the party lines should not be encouraged and should be punished with severe penal consequences for attempting to do so. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the party, had termed the actions of the disqualified MLAs a constitutional sin.