SC notice to Speaker

New Delhi, Mar 19 (UNI) The Supreme Court today issued notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker through its Secretary General and the Centre on a petition filed by one of the 10 MPs who were expelled by the Lok Sabha on December 23, 2005 for the cash-for-query scam seeking directions to the respondents not to evict the petitioner Rajarampal from his official bungalow till the term of the present Lok Sabha is over.

The counsel for the petitioner told the bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P K Balasubramanyan and R V Raveendran that his client was prepared to pay the market rent for the bungalow from the date of the judgment of the apex court upholding his expulsion and not from the date of his expulsion by the Lok Sabha.

Estate office had issued notices to all the disqualified MPs to vacate the bungalows/flats or to pay penal rent as they are not entitled for official accomodation as they are no longer MPs.

The five-judge bench of the apex court headed by then Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal had upheld the expulsion order of the Speaker last year but had ruled that the apex court had the power to examine the validity of the actions of the Speaker and the court has the last word on the interpretation of the Constitution.

Mr Somnath Chatterjee had , however taken the stand that action of the Speaker can not be subjected to judicial scrutiny and had refused to accept notice of the apex court.

The court, however, overruled the contention of the Speaker.

The stand of the government as well as the Speaker was that the Parliament was competent to regulate its own proceedings and also to discipline and punish its members if their actions are below the dignity of the house.

UNI