Supreme Court rules rebel Karnataka MLAs can’t be compelled to participate in trust vote 

Supreme Court of India.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, issued an interim order ruling that the speaker of Karnataka assembly, KR Ramesh Kumar, will decide on the resignations of 15 rebel Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) MLAs within a time frame the speaker may consider appropriate. The court also said that MLAs should not be compelled to attend the proceedings of the state assembly.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Justice Deepak Gupta and Justice Aniruddha Bose has also said that the speaker should be free to take any decision and should not be burdened by any order. The bench further ordered that other issues in the matter can be discussed later. It was necessary to maintain the constitutional balance in the matter, the court said.

The rebel MLAs that have put resignation in the office of the speaker have filed petitions in the Supreme Court accusing KR Ramesh Kumar for not accepting their resignations. As much as 16 Congress and JD(U) MLAs have been submitted their resignation since July 6 pushing the government to fall to 101 seats compared to the Bharatiya Janata Party 105 plus two Independents in the 224-member house.

While hearing to all the parties involved in the case, the apex court told senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi who appeared for the speaker that there is no inflexible rule. The court did not have jurisdiction to order the speaker to act in a particular manner, the bench said.

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