IMPORTANT POINTS
Decision on an application for disqualification of the members is not a proceeding of the House but a proceeding before the Speaker exercising quasi-judicial powers for adjudication. Amenable to judicial review.
Judicial review would come to the aid of the Speaker taking prompt action, acting as a Tribunal, in a reasonable time
Parliament requested to have a rethink on whether disqualification petitions ought to be entrusted to a Speaker as a quasi-judicial authority when such Speaker continues to belong to a particular political party either de jure or de facto. Parliament may seriously consider amending the Constitution to substitute the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies as arbiter of disputes concerning disqualification which arise under the Tenth Schedule with a permanent Tribunal headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, or some other outside independent mechanism to ensure that such disputes are decided both swiftly and impartially.

JUDGMENT

R.F. Nariman, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. The Appeals in the present case raise important questions relating to the Tenth Schedule to the Constitution of India (hereinafter referred to as “Tenth Schedule”). The election for the 11th Manipur Legislative Assembly was conducted in March, 2017.

The said Assembly election produced an inconclusive result as none of the political parties were able to secure a majority i.e. 31 seats in a Legislative Assembly of 60 seats in order to form the Government. The Indian National Congress (hereinafter referred to as “Congress Party”) emerged as the single largest party with 28 seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (hereinafter referred to as “BJP”) coming second with 21 seats. The Respondent No.3, in the Civil Appeal arising out of SLP(C) No. 18659 of 2019, contested as a candidate nominated and set up by the Congress Party and was duly elected as such. On 12.03.2017, immediately after the declaration of the results, Respondent No.3 along with various BJP members met the Governor of the State of Manipur in order to stake a claim for forming a BJP-led Government. On 15.03.2017, the Governor invited the group lead by the BJP to form the Government in the State. On the same day, the Chief Minister-Designate sent a letter to the Governor for administering oath as Ministers to eight elected MLAs including Respondent No.3. On the same day, Respondent No.3 was sworn in as a Minister in the BJP-led government and continues as such till date.

3. As many as thirteen applications for the disqualification of Respondent No.3 were filed before the Speaker of the Manipur Legislative Assembly between April and July, 2017 stating that Respondent No.3 was disqualified under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the Tenth Schedule. The present petition that was filed by the Appellant, in the Civil Appeal arising out of SLP(C) No. 18659 of 2019, was dated 31.07.2017.

4. Since no action was taken on any of these petitions by the Speaker, one T.N. Haokip filed a writ petition being Writ Petition (C) No.353 of 2017 before the High Court of Manipur at Imphal, in which the Petitioner prayed that the High Court direct the Speaker to decide his disqualification petition within a reasonable time. On 08.09.2017, the High Court stated that as the issue of whether a High Court can direct a Speaker to decide a disqualification petition within a certain timeframe is pending before a Bench of 5 Hon’ble Judges of the Supreme Court the High Court cannot pass any order in the matter, and the matter was ordered to be listed so as to await the outcome of the cases pending before the Supreme Court.

5. After waiting till January, 2018, on 29.01.2018, the Appellant, in the Civil Appeal arising out of SLP(C) No. 18659 of 2019, filed Writ Petition (C) No.17 of 2018 before the same High Court asking for the following reliefs:

“i. Issue Rule Nisi;

ii. To issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction as to this Hon’ble Court may deem fit and proper;

iii. To declare that Respondent No. 3 has incurred disqualification for being a member of the Manipur Legislative Assembly under para 2(1) (a) of the Xth Schedule to the Constitution of India in terms of law laid down by the Constitution Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Rajendra Singh Rana and Ors. -Vrs- Swami Prasad Maurya and Ors. reported in (2007) 4 SCC 270.

iv. If the Hon’ble High Court is pleased to consider that the prayer made in para no. (ii) and (iii) above deserve merit for a favourable order, a writ in the nature of Quo Warranto be issued ousting Respondent No. 3 from the post/office of Minister.”

6. The writ petition was taken up and heard by the High Court and disposed of by the impugned judgment dated 23.07.2019. The questions that the High Court posed before itself, which required consideration at its hands, were stated as follows:

“(a) Whether, in the facts and circumstances of the present case, the respondent No. 1 can be said to have failed to discharge its duties as enjoined in the Tenth Sched