Madras HC upholds acceptance of six AIADMK MLAs' resignations, sets two-month limit

The ruling

The Madras High Court on Tuesday, October 13, upheld the Tamil Nadu Assembly Speaker's decision to accept the resignations of six AIADMK MLAs who later joined the ruling TVK, according to a PTI report in ThePrint. The first bench of Chief Justice Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan heard the challenge. The respondent was Speaker JCD Prabhakar.

The petition was filed by AIADMK whip Agri S.S. Krishnamurthy. A separate ThePrint report of October 14 on the 109-page judgment says that M.L. Ravi, president of the Desiya Makkal Sakthi Katchi, also petitioned. They challenged the acceptance of the resignations and sought action on pending disqualification complaints.

The six legislators

PTI lists the six as S. Jayakumar (Perundurai), Maragatham Kumaravel (Madurantakam), P. Sathyabama (Dharapuram), Esakki Subaya (Ambasamudram), C. Vijayabhaskar (Viralimalai) and M.R. Vijayabhaskar (Karur). The first three resigned on May 25, Subaya on May 26, C. Vijayabhaskar on June 16 and M.R. Vijayabhaskar on June 29. PTI adds that Kumaravel and Sathyabama later won bypolls as TVK candidates on October 6.

The second ThePrint report says the April 23 Assembly election produced TVK 108 seats, DMK 59 and AIADMK 47, and that Vijay was invited to form the government. It reports that the AIADMK whip directed its MLAs to vote against the confidence motion, that 25 of them defied the whip, and that the party began disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule.

The court's reasoning

According to ThePrint's account of the judgment, the court treated resignation under Article 190(3)(b) and disqualification under the Tenth Schedule as separate matters. It held that the Speaker only has to be satisfied that a resignation is genuine and voluntary and need not inquire into political motives. The Speaker had met each legislator individually, and the court found no constitutional defect. PTI reports the court as finding the resignations genuine and voluntary.

The bench said the acceptance of the resignations does not make the pending disqualification proceedings academic or infructuous.

What the court ordered

The Speaker must finish the disqualification proceedings within two months, according to both ThePrint reports. The longer report adds that the Speaker must publish a timetable within seven days, that no legislator should receive more than two adjournments on flimsy grounds, and that the decision must be reasoned and follow natural justice. If the deadline is missed, an interested party may approach the High Court again.

The ruling does not itself disqualify any of the legislators or clear them of the allegations, ThePrint reports. PTI quotes the bench as saying the Speaker can still decide the disqualification proceedings, with the consequences that follow under the Tenth Schedule.

The reports read contain no reaction from the parties and do not say whether an appeal is planned.