19 hours ago
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Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker J.C.D. Prabhakar’s decision not to prosecute the substance of disqualification against 21 legislators of the AIADMK appears to beryllium a throwback to the attraction that 11 MLAs of the enactment experienced astir 8 years ago.
As successful the contiguous case, the legislators who faced the imaginable of disqualification successful 2017 were spared the proceedings successful presumption of the past Speaker, P. Dhanapal, not going aft them. However, determination were 2 differences. Back then, nary specified announcement was made. Furthermore, the substance went to the Madras High Court that dismissed a plea for enactment against the legislators.
Motion of confidence
On February 18, 2017, a question of assurance was moved by the past Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, successful the Assembly. Eleven MLAs of his party, including erstwhile Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam and erstwhile Ministers S. Semmalai and K. Pandiarajan, voted against the motion. Though a whip was said to person been issued for the spot question and petitions were fixed to Mr. Dhanapal about a period later, determination was nary follow-up connected his part. In the meantime, the rubric and awesome of the AIADMK were frozen by the Election Commission. Five months later, the camps of Mr. Palaniswami and Mr. Panneerselvam came together, burying their differences. Subsequently, the unified enactment was recognised arsenic the AIADMK and assigned the awesome of ‘Two Leaves’.
On August 22, 2017, legislators owing allegiance to the rebel person of the AIADMK, T.T.V. Dhinakaran, submitted letters to Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao, “withdrawing their support” to Mr. Palaniswami. On September 18, the Speaker disqualified 18 legislators connected the crushed that, done their action, they had “voluntarily” fixed up the rank of the enactment to which they belonged.
A week later, DMK whip R. Sakkarapani approached the tribunal for a absorption to the Speaker to initiate disqualification proceedings against Mr. Panneerselvam and other AIADMK MLAs. In April 2018, the High Court dismissed the plea connected the crushed that it would not beryllium due for the tribunal to contented specified a absorption since the Supreme Court was seized of the larger law contented of the powerfulness of courts to springiness specified a ruling. And the lawsuit had not challenged immoderate enactment of the Speaker either.
Petition against Speaker
When the DMK filed different petition alleging inaction connected the portion of the Speaker connected the representations fixed to him to disqualify the MLAs, the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice Abdul Quddhose, said, “Passing of specified orders would magnitude to not lone judicial overreach but besides gross breach of judicial discipline, if not contempt.”
When the Dravidian enactment amended its supplication to request that the tribunal disqualify the MLAs without issuing a absorption to the Speaker to bash so, the Bench said specified an bid could not beryllium passed either, arsenic it would magnitude to usurping the powers of the Speaker.
Appeal successful Supreme Court
Though the DMK moved the Supreme Court with an appeal, it did not unafraid the alleviation it had sought. The contented died down successful owed course, and the Assembly predetermination took spot successful May 2021, rendering it infructuous.
