Editor's Pick: SC quashes Maharashtra MLAs’ suspension

The Supreme Court has revoked the one-year suspension of 12 MLAs from the Maharashtra Assembly, calling it an “irrational” act that would impact the democratic set-up, leave constituencies unrepresented and help governments on a “thin majority” manipulate numbers. The BJP legislators were suspended for a year for “grossly disorderly conduct” in the House during the monsoon session in 2021. On Friday, a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T. Ravikumar quashed the resolution of July 5 last year as “unconstitutional” and traversing beyond the powers of the Assembly. The court said it was illegal to suspend a sitting legislator beyond the ongoing session. “A suspension beyond the remainder period of the ongoing session would not only be grossly irrational measure, but also violative of the basic democratic values owing to unessential deprivation of the member concerned, and more importantly, the constituency would remain unrepresented in the Assembly,” Justice Khanwilkar observed. “It would also impact the democratic set-up as a whole by permitting the thin majority government [coalition government] of the day to manipulate the numbers of the Opposition party in the House in an undemocratic manner,” he added. The court held that such suspensions would cripple the Opposition’s ability to effectively participate in the discussion/debate in the House owing to the constant fear of its members being suspended for a longer period. The 12 MLAs had filed petitions challenging the House resolution. They were suspended after the government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber. The BJP leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, welcomed the verdict and said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi must apologise to the people. In its judgment, the Supreme Court said a nation aspiring to be a “world leader” should debate on the welfare of its citizens rather than make Parliament a stage to exchange jeers and launch personal attacks. Last November, 12 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs had been suspended for “unruly behaviour.” Though Friday’s order dealt with the year-long suspension of the Maharashtra MLAs, the Bench observed that Parliament “is a place where policies and laws are propounded for governing the citizenry,” but that Parliament and Assemblies were becoming more and more an intransigent place. “The philosophical tenet that one must agree to disagree is seldom seen during debates… It has become common to hear that the House could not complete its usual scheduled business and most of the time had been spent in jeering and personal attacks against each other,” it noted. The Bench cited Article 190(4) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the House may declare vacant the seat of a member who is absent for 60 days without permission, to wonder whether any suspension could traverse beyond this 60-day limit. With members in Parliament and Assemblies often disrupting proceedings due to a lack of meeting ground between the governments and the Opposition, and the Supreme Court taking note of it, this becomes an important story of the day. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. Click hereThe Hindu's Editorials At the Centre: On India-Central Asia summit Valley and hills: On Manipur poll battle Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz When was Air India nationalised? 1. 1953 2. 1954 3. 1952 4. 1947 To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 29 JANUARY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( SC quashes Maharashtra MLAs’ suspension [SC quashes Maharashtra MLAs’ suspension] The Supreme Court has revoked the one-year [suspension of 12 MLAs from the Maharashtra Assembly]( calling it an “irrational” act that would impact the democratic set-up, leave constituencies unrepresented and help governments on a “thin majority” manipulate numbers. The BJP legislators were suspended for a year for “grossly disorderly conduct” in the House during the monsoon session in 2021. On Friday, a Bench of Justices A.M. Khanwilkar, Dinesh Maheshwari and C.T. Ravikumar quashed the resolution of July 5 last year as “unconstitutional” and traversing beyond the powers of the Assembly. The court said it was illegal to suspend a sitting legislator beyond the ongoing session. “A suspension beyond the remainder period of the ongoing session would not only be grossly irrational measure, but also violative of the basic democratic values owing to unessential deprivation of the member concerned, and more importantly, the constituency would remain unrepresented in the Assembly,” Justice Khanwilkar observed. “It would also impact the democratic set-up as a whole by permitting the thin majority government [coalition government] of the day to manipulate the numbers of the Opposition party in the House in an undemocratic manner,” he added. The court held that such suspensions would cripple the Opposition’s ability to effectively participate in the discussion/debate in the House owing to the constant fear of its members being suspended for a longer period. The 12 MLAs had filed petitions challenging the House resolution. They were suspended after the government accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber. The BJP leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra, [Devendra Fadnavis, welcomed the verdict]( and said the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi must apologise to the people. In its judgment, the Supreme Court said a nation aspiring to be [a “world leader” should debate on the welfare of its citizens]( rather than make Parliament a stage to exchange jeers and launch personal attacks. Last November, 12 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs had been suspended for “unruly behaviour.” Though Friday’s order dealt with the year-long suspension of the Maharashtra MLAs, the Bench observed that Parliament “is a place where policies and laws are propounded for governing the citizenry,” but that Parliament and Assemblies were becoming more and more an intransigent place. “The philosophical tenet that one must agree to disagree is seldom seen during debates… It has become common to hear that the House could not complete its usual scheduled business and most of the time had been spent in jeering and personal attacks against each other,” it noted. The Bench cited Article 190(4) of the Constitution, which stipulates that the House may declare vacant the seat of a member who is absent for 60 days without permission, to wonder whether any suspension could traverse beyond this 60-day limit. With members in Parliament and Assemblies often disrupting proceedings due to a lack of meeting ground between the governments and the Opposition, and the Supreme Court taking note of it, this becomes an important story of the day.  [underlineimg] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor's Pick and more. [Click here]( The Hindu's Editorials [Arrow][At the Centre: On India-Central Asia summit]( [Arrow][Valley and hills: On Manipur poll battle]( [underlineimg] Try out The Hindu's daily news quiz When was Air India nationalised? 1. 1953 2. 1954 3. 1952 4. 1947 To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. 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