From Our Special Correspondent
GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notices to Nagaland Assembly Speaker and two MLAs of the ruling National Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) on the special leave petition (SLP) filed by National Peoples’ Party (NPP), seeking to set aside the order of the Speaker who had accepted merger of the MLAs elected on the symbol of NPP with NDPP.
According to information from official sources on Wednesday, the apex court bench comprising Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta served the notices to Speaker, Vikho-o Yhoshu, and the MLAs, Imnatiba Jamir and L. Khumo.
The court also issued notice on application for stay.
A. Sharan, senior advocate and Amit Kumar, advocate along with Avijit Mani Tripathi, advocate on record, appeared and argued for NPP while senior counsel, Mukul Rohatgi appeared and argued for the respondents.
Expressing satisfaction on apex court’s notification to the MLAs, Nagaland NPP general secretary (administration), Samuel Sumi told The Shillong Times on Wednesday, “We are very happy with the apex court’s move. The MLAs had merged with NDPP which is against the anti-defection bill. If at all they are to merge with another party, the whole party structure should merge with it. But NPP has no merger with the ruling party.”
The issue involved in the SLP is of far reaching consequences as more often than not, two third MLAs of the original political party get merged with the other party and claim merger of the legislative party and set up the same as defence to disqualification.
NPP had challenged the order of the Speaker before the Supreme Court through the SLP, which was registered on April 2, 2019.
According to NPP, the order issued by the Speaker on March 20 is in gross violation of paragraph 4 of 10th Schedule of the Constitution whereby the two legislators elected as members of NPP have been allowed to be merged with the ruling party with no notice issued to NPP before the order.
In smaller states of India, the issue has become important as parties trying to cobble majority engineer defection in smaller parties by getting merged with the legislative party and claim merger of the original political party, which is against the mandate of 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
