SC reserves its verdict on BSP MLAs

New Delhi, Jan 16 (UNI) The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging a Allahabad High Court judgement holding as illegal the action of BSP MLAs in Uttar Pradesh defecting from their parent party to support Mulayam Singh Yadav in formation of a Samajwadi Party Government in the state in September, 2003.

A five-judge constitution bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices H K Sema, A R Lakshmanan, P K Balasubramanyan and D K Jain reserved the judgement after the arguments of both the sides were concluded.

The 42 MLAs were allegedly lured by Mr Mulayam Singh to cobble up a workable majority to form a Government in the state and subsequently all the defectors were either made Ministers or were appointed as the Chairmen of various statutory bodies with Cabinet rank.

These MLAs were allowed by the apex court to form an independent group called Bahujan Loktantrik Dal (BLD). Five of them resigned from the ministry after the February 28, 2006 High Court verdict and joined back the BSP and only 37 MLAs came to the Supreme Court to challenge the judgement.

The main controversy involved in the case is whether the Speaker should have acted on August 28, 2003, when the strength of the BSP defectors was only 13 or he should have waited till the strength of defectors became more than one third of the total strength of the BSP in the Assembly.

The law is if the total strength of the defectors is less than one third of the parent party then they are disqualified under anti-defection law as it is not a split in the party.

UNI