SC ruling on powers of Speaker will change country's political scenario: Cong

The Congress on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the powers of the Speaker of a House, saying it will change the political scenario of India.

In a path-breaking ruling, the apex court on Tuesday said Parliament should "rethink" whether the Speaker of a House should continue to have powers to disqualify lawmakers as such a functionary "belongs to a particular political party".

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said the Supreme Court judgement says that no Speaker can now delay deciding a matter and the delay cannot be more than three months as they have directed the Manipur Assembly Speaker to decide a matter pertaining to disqualification of a Congress MLA in three months.

He said the SC judgement says that Parliament must now frame a law to have an independent tribunal, take away the power from Speaker (on deciding disqualification petitions).

The Congress leader said the Congress bagged 28 seats in Manipur, the BJP got 21, but the saffron party aligned with NPP and took one Congress MLA and the next day of him being elected, he became a minister.

The Congress had then filed an application of disqualification against him but the Speaker did not take any action, after which a writ petition was filed, Sibal said.

"No Speaker can delay deciding a matter and the delay cannot be more than three months. Every disqualification application has to be decided within three months.

"If there are some peculiar circumstances which do not permit him to decide within three months, he must give reasons as to why he cannot decide within three months and they have directed the Manipur Speaker to decide the matter within three months and he says that judge said if he does not decide the matter, we are free to come back to Supreme Court for seeking appropriate directions," Sibal said.

He said the ruling would mean that the Tamil Nadu Assembly, also where Speaker has not decided, will have to decide within three months. He added that it also means that in many other states, where people have moved from one party to another party, who have been against ministers and against whom disqualification petitions are pending including Goa, will have to decide these matters in the next three months.

"This will change the political scenario of India. We are very happy and the Supreme Court has also said that it seems that the Minority judgment in Kiyoto Holon seems to be right. That their fear seems to be justified and that is why we need a change in the 10th Schedule of the Constitution regarding the Tribunal to decide, which Tribunal is to decide on issues of disqualification," Sibal said.

According to the Supreme Court ruling, Parliament may seriously consider amending the Constitution to substitute Speaker of Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies as arbiter of disqualification issues with "a permanent Tribunal headed by a retired Supreme Court Judge or a retired Chief Justice of a High Court" or some other mechanism to ensure swift and impartial decisions.