SC stays disqualification proceedings against 2 AIADMK MLAs

The Supreme Court Monday stayed disqualification proceedings against two AIADMK MLAs who were served notice by the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker for allegedly indulging in "anti-party" activities.

The notices were served under the Anti-defection law.

A bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta also issued notices on the plea filed by two AIADMK MLAs V T Kalaiselvan and E Rathinasabapathy.

"Notice. Stay of proceedings," the bench said.

On April 30, A Prabhu (Kallakurichi), Kalaiselvan (Vriddhachalam) and E Rathinasabapathy (Aranthangi) were served notices by Assembly Speaker P Dhanapal, seeking an explanation for allegedly siding with Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) leader TTV Dhinakaran.

Out of the three MLAs, two lawmakers have approached the Supreme Court challenging the notice served to them.

Their petition had sought directions prohibiting the Speaker from acting without jurisdiction and to adjudicate the disqualification petition during the pendency of no-confidence motion against him.

"It is submitted that the actions of the Respondent number-1 (speaker) in the last two years speaks volumes of his partisan and biased conduct and has reasonable apprehension that the respondent number-1 would not be following the dictum of law laid down and would act without jurisdiction to adjudicate and decide the disqualification petition", the plea said.

The action of the speaker is without jurisdiction, arbitrary and actuated with malice, it added.

"The action of Respondent-1 is violative of fundamental right of petitioner under Article 14, 19 (1) (a) and is likely to hamper the right of free speech and expression of the petitioner," the plea said.

It said that just when the election result of the by-election to 22 assembly seats are due to be announced on May 23, the action taken by speaker to initiate disqualification proceedings against them "smacks of biased and partisan attitude".