Lawmakers' right to resign is 'democratic right': K'taka assembly speaker's office to SC

The right to resignation by a lawmaker is a "democratic right" and it is high time that the judiciary lay down guidelines for speakers, the Karnataka assembly speaker's office told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the office of the Karnataka assembly speaker, told a three-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana that an MLA can be disqualified for giving up membership of a political party but he or she cannot be disqualified for giving up membership of the House.

Mehta argued this when the bench, also comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Krishna Murari, was hearing a batch of pleas filed by 17 disqualified Karnataka MLAs, who have challenged the decision of former Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar to disqualify them.

"Probably, this may happen frequently and travel beyond these 17 persons. Right to resign is a right recognised by this court in a Constitution bench verdict," the solicitor general told the bench, adding that tendering resignation is a "democratic right because the person wants to go back to the electorate".

"I cannot be critical of what has happened in the past in this case but it may happen very frequently and the issue needs to be adjudicated. It's high time that the judiciary lay down guidelines for the speaker," Mehta said.

However, the bench said the courts cannot lay down guidelines for speakers.

"How can we lay down guidelines for the speaker? He is a constitutional authority," the bench said, adding, "we cannot encroach in his domain."