RAM BILAS SHARMA Vs. SPEAKER HARYANA VIDHAN SABHA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India the petitioner is seeking to have the order passed by the Speaker Haryana Vidhan Sabha on his application to disqualify the second respondent from being a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha on the ground of defection under paragraph 2 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India, set aside by issuing a writ of Certiorari. Brief facts to resolve the controversy in this writ petition are as under:-

(2.) The petitioner and the second respondent contested the general elections to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha held in the May/June, 1991 from Mohindergarh and Shahabad Markanda Assembly Constituencies respectively on B.J.P. tickets. Thus both of them constituted the B.J.P, Legislature party in the Assembly. The second respondent was also elected as Secretary of the BJP Legislature group at a meeting of the party held on 17.7.1991, According to the petitioner the second respondent defected from BJP and Joined Congress (I) on 29.7.1991 and thereby incurred disqualification from being a member of the Legislature Assembly in view of the provisions contained in paragraph 2 of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the petitioner filed an application before the Speaker of Haryana Vidhan Sabha to declare the second respondent as disqualified for violation of anti-defection law. The Speaker gave notice of this application to the second respondent who claimed that there was a split in BJP Haryana State Unit and as a result of the split he along with some other workers of BJP formed a separate party called BJP (K) and he became a member of the Legislature party of BJP (K) which came into existence as a result of split in the Haryana unit of the original political party namely BJP. The split in BJP Haryana unit and forming of a separate party called as BJP (K) was intimated to the Speaker on 17.7.1997 who accepted the same. It is the further case of the second respondent that after the split he claimed the member of the Legislature party of the political party BJP (K). He further claimed that subsequently the political party BJP (K) merged with Congress (I) and, therefore, he became member of Congress (I) Legislature party and thus, he has not incurred any disqualification from being a member of the Legislative Assembly. After giving notice to the petitioner and the second respondent the Speaker passed the impugnedorderdated10thApril,1992dismissing the applicationfiled by the petitioner to disqualifying the second respondent in terms of paragraph 2(1) (a) of the 10th Schedule. This order of the Speaker is under challenge in this writ petition.

(3.) It is an admitted case that the petitioner and the second respondent were elected to Haryana Vidhan Sabha having been set up by the original political party BJP. On 17.7.1991 the second respondent has written to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly that as a result of the split in the Legislature party of the political party (BJP) Anr. Legislature party in the name BJP(K) has come into being. He further averred that on account of ideological differences he has decided to form new Legislature party in the name and style of BJP(K). The letter written by the second respondent to the Speaker was reproduced in the impugned order Annexure P.7. It is nowhere stated therein that there was any split in the original political party either at the national level or in the Haryana State unit of BJP. A reading of the letter clearly shows that because of the ideological differences he (second respondent) has decided to form a new legislature party in the name and style of BJP (K). In our view such a contention cannot be accepted in view of the clear provisions contained in paragraph 3 of the 10th Schedule to the Constitution of India.