Karnataka trust vote: Bopaiah to stay pro tem speaker

New Delhi: The Congress-JD(S) plea for ouster of K.G. Bopaiah as pro tem speaker of Karnataka Assembly was floored on Saturday as Karnataka government informed the Supreme Court about the live telecast of the floor test proceedings to ascertain the majority support to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa.

The day-long assembly session is currently underway for administering oath to newly elected members and later to conduct the floor test to ascertain the majority support to Yeddyurappa.

The Congress and JD(S) did not press their application seeking that Bopaiah should not preside over the proceedings when the floor test is conducted after Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta informed the court about the live telecast of the assembly proceedings.

Taking on record the statement made by the ASG Mehta about the live feed of the assembly proceedings being made available to several regional channels and the Congress-JD(S) not pressing their application, a bench comprising Justice A.K. Sikri, Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice Ashok Bhushan said that no other agenda except for administering oath and floor test will be taken up in the State assembly on Saturday.

"We also clarify that there shall be no other item in the Agenda that shall be taken up during the Trust Vote today (Saturday)", the court said in its order disposing off the Congress-JD(S) joint application.

The court also recorded the statement by Mehta that the Secretary of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly will record the proceedings of the floor test.

Apparently satisfied by the decision to telecast the proceedings live, Justice Sikri said: "Videography of the floor test will serve the purpose. They are giving access to all local channels. Now let us enjoy our holidays. Our problem is solved."

Appreciating the decision to telecast live the floor test and noting the number of prayers that had been made in the application by Congress-JD(S) including the modification of May 18 order, the court said in view of the statement by ASG Mehta appearing for the State government as well as the Governor, "it is not even necessary to go into these prayers".

The court appeared unimpressed by the plea that Bopaiah was a relatively junior member of the State assembly and his appointment by the Governor Vajubhai Vala was contrary to well-established parliamentary conventions as it said that there were instances when the said convention was not followed.

"You have said that conventions have been deviated in the past," Justice Sikri told counsel Kapil Sibal, who initiated the arguments on behalf of H.D. Kumaraswamy. "Convention has been deviated in the past. Therefore, it is not a convention. Unless a convention becomes a legal norm, courts can't look into it."

Both Sibal and counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the court that they had no problem with Bopaiah presiding over the administering of oath, but said they have problem in his conducting the floor test.

As Sibal urged the court to pass an order exercising its powers under Article 142 (relating to plenary powers of the top court), Justice Bobde said: "If we review our order, then we will have to postpone the floor test. We will have to issue notice to Bopaiah. We declined to pass an order on the midnight of May 17 because we wanted to hear Yeddyurappa."

"If you want us to review our order and do not allow Boppaiah to oversee trust vote, then who will do the trust vote? Who will preside over the trust vote," Justice Sikri asked, wondering whether court could ask the Governor to appoint any particular member to act as pro tem Speaker to conduct the floor test.

Justice Sikri said that since Sibal had cast aspersions on Bopaiah and if the May 17 order had to be modified then notice will have to be issued to him.

"You have questioned his suitability and cast aspersion on him," Justice Sikri told Sibal.

Sibal had read to the court extracts from its earlier 2011 judgment wherein it had taken a dim view of Bopaiah's unseating in October 2010 11 BJP members who had revolted against Yeddyurappa during his earlier term as Chief Minister.

Sibal extensively read the portions from May 13, 2011 judgment of the top court which, while setting aside the disqualification of the 11 BJP MLAs, had said that "Extraneous considerations were writ large the face of the order of the Speaker."

"The element of hot haste is also evident in the action of the Speaker in this regard as well. The procedure adopted by the Speaker seems to indicate that he was trying to meet the time schedule set by the Governor for the trial of strength in the assembly and to ensure that the Appellants (Disqualified BJP MLAs) and other independent MLAs stood disqualified prior to the date on which the Floor Test was to be held," the top court had said on May 13, 2011 on Bopaiah's action in disqualifying BJP MLAs.