Prez poll: Pranab vs Purno case
From Our Special Correspondent
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will have a preliminary hearing on the petition filed by former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma challenging the election of Pranab Mukherjee as President to determine whether it deserves to be heard in detail in the regular course.
“Let this matter be listed for further consideration on November 20,” a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said while making it clear that the procedure requires that various parties have to be given a chance for raising preliminary arguments on maintainability of the issues.
The court’s order came in the wake of procedural objections raised by Sangma’s counsel Ram Jethmalani.
Jethmalani said that under the procedure, the petition upon presentation shall be posted before the bench of five judges for preliminary hearing. He said that he was only seeking the preliminary hearing before court embark on holding final hearing.
Appearing for the President Pranab Mukharjee, senior counsel Harish Salve that said that Rule 13 of the order 39 of the Supreme Court Rules 1966, itself contemplates preliminary hearing and this case does not warrant regular hearing. He said that in both cases whether preliminary hearing or regular hearing, the court has to hear the matter. Attorney General G E Vahanvati, who was assisting the court as a necessary party under the Supreme Court Rules in such matters, submitted that as per the amended rules of the Supreme Court, the court has to undertake a preliminary hearing to decide whether the issues raised in the petition deserves to be given a regular hearing. Sangma sought a direction for setting aside Mukherjee’s election as President and declaring him as elected to the post. Mukherjee said the twin allegations that he was holding offices of profit as Chairman of ISI and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha are “untenable and misconceived”. He said he secured 7,13,763 votes (over 70 per cent of the votes cast) and was duly elected President. Sangma received votes of a value of only 3,15,987 out of the total value of 10.5 lakhs but he sought a declaration that he be declared elected.
During the preliminary hearing, Sangma will argue to show there was a “cause of action” for filing the petition.
The bench, also comprising justices P Sathasivam, S S Nijjar, J Chelameswar and Ranjan Gogoi, took on record the short affidavit filed by Mukherjee, who said the grounds for challenging his election was “ex facie misconceived.” Mukherjee said he had resigned from all posts he held before filing nomination for the post of President and it was “absurd” to allege that his signature was forged in the letter for resigantion from the post of Chairman of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). Mukherjee said like any other person he has two or three types of signatures which some times reflect his full name and some other time show as P K Mukherjee. On the issue of holding the post of ISI Chairman, an office of profit, Mukherjee said he resigned on June 20 and sent the letter through his aide, who carried it to Kolkata the same day. However, on June 21 the ISI Director was not in town and as such it was delivered to him only the next evening. The Director responded to the letter on June 23, he said. “The office of Chairman of ISI is an honorary office without any emoluments, and resignation from such an office is a unilateral act, and such resignation did not require to be accepted. The delivery of the resignation letter itself was sufficient and the resignation came into effect immediately.” he said.
Mukherjee said the assumption that he, as leader of the Lok Sabha, was entitled to perquisites beyond those available to him as Minister was factually incorrect.
“This office [leader of the Lok Sabha] is coextensive and thus co-terminus with the term as a Minister” he said, adding he did not accept or receive any perquisite in that capacity. He submitted that by June 20 letter, he had resigned not only from the office of Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha but also from the Congress Working Committee as well as from primary membership of the party. In fact, the CWC held a function to bid him farewell on June 25 and it was extensively covered by the media,” he said. (With inputs from PTI)