With the Supreme Court-appointed third judge, Justice M Sathyanarayanan, concurring with the findings of the then Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, the ruling AIADMK government is safe for now.
With this verdict, the interim order restraining the Election Commission of India from notifying byelections to 18 constituencies stands vacated.
In view of the order, the AIADMK government can survive with 107 votes in case of a trust vote. As on date, the Edappadi K Palaniswami-led government is assured of the support of 109 AIADMK legislators. Even in the case of a tie in voting, the ruling party can count on the speaker’s support.
However, the high court verdict is not the final one, as the MLAs have an option to go on appeal before the Supreme Court resulting in status quo of the present situation.
On June 14, the first bench of the court passed a split verdict, with the then Chief Justice, Justice Indira Banerjee, upholding the decision of the assembly speaker in disqualifying the MLAs under the anti-defection law. The second judge, Justice M Sundar, differed and set aside the disqualification order of the speaker on the grounds of perversity, non-compliance with principles of natural justice, mala fide and violation of constitutional mandate.
Subsequently, the seniormost judge of the high court, Justice Huluvadi G Ramesh, appointed Justice S Vimala as the third judge to decide the case. Aggrieved over the choice of judge, one of the disqualified legislators approached the Supreme Court seeking to transfer the case to itself.
On June 27, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court nominated Justice Sathyanarayanan as the third judge.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2D2TO6o
