SC asks Kamal Nath govt to face floor test on Friday

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh to face a floor test in the state assembly by 5 pm on Saturday. The court order came on a petition filed by the opposition BJP which wanted an immediate resolution of the issue.

A bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta said that the voting has to be done peacefully by a show of hands. The proceedings have to be videographed and there should be a live telecast.

The court also directed the police chiefs of Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka to provide security to the 16 rebel Congress MLAs if they choose to appear in Assembly for trust vote.

Earlier, the court suggested that Assembly Speaker N.P. Prajapati 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. The speaker, however, refused to accept the top court's proposal.

The counsel appearing for Governor Lalji Tandon told the bench that Chief Minister Kamal Nath was "sitting aside" in the turn of events and it is the speaker who is "leading the political battle" in court.

The bench asked all the parties how the decision of a speaker in matters of resignation and disqualification of MLAs affects the floor test.

It said the constitutional principle that emerges is that there is no restraint on trust vote because of resignation or disqualification being pending before the speaker. It said, therefore, the court will have to flip around and see whether the governor acted beyond the powers vested in him.

During the hearing, the bench said that if the government loses the majority when the assembly was not in session, then governor has the power to direct the speaker to summon the assembly.