Raj judiciary-legislature row in Speakers meet

Jaipur, May 20: A row between judiciary and the state legislature in Rajasthan over issuance of notices for ''contempt of court'' to four legislators will figure at the four-day Speakers' Conference scheduled to be held in Thiruvananthapuram from May 24.

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker Sumitra Singh will participate in the conference to be chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.

Talking to UNI here today, Ms Singh said the matter of issuance of notices to four members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly would be raised by her at the conference.

''We shall have interaction over the issue obviously,'' she said.

Over the further course of action by the state assembly over issuance of the notices, Ms Singh said a decision in this regard would be taken up at an appropriate time.

However, she reiterated that the legislature or any of the legislators concerned would not accept the notices as and when served upon them.

The assembly secretary being an officer of judicial service was free to accept the notice in his personal capacity, she added.

Over the privileges and supremacy of the state legislature as a law-making and sovereign body, the Speaker maintained that holding debates and discussions was the legislature's privileged duty and no one, including a court, could question the legislature's powers in this regard.

She said article 194 of the Constitution granted members freedom and privilege to speak while participating in the debate, discussions and other proceedings of the House.

Besides this, article 212 of the Constitution accorded immunity to the legislature and/or members against liability to face proceedings of any court for speaking, participating or holding debate/discussion or for voting on the floor of the House.

Ms Singh said while delivering the order for issuance of notices to the legislature and legislators, the Rajasthan High Court had perhaps not taken these two articles in consideration.

The Speaker said only article 211 of the Constitution put a rider for members for holding discussion or speaking on the conduct of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.

She clarified that at no point of time legislature or legislators had made references on the conduct of a judge.

The single bench of Justice Mohammad Rafiq on May 18 had issued afresh notices to MLAs Mahir Azad and Durga Prasad (both Congress) and Nathu Singh Gurjar and Madan Rathore(both BJP), the Rajasthan Assembly secretary, state Chief Secretary and the Advocate General which are returnable with in four weeks. Earlier, single bench of Justice Ashok Parihar had ordered issuance of the notices in connection with a petition filed by a local lawyer Amit Gupta.

The court ordered the issuance of the notices afresh last Friday last when the petitioner lawyer urged saying that the earlier notices issued by the court could not be served up-on the respondants.

The row arose during the budget session of the State Assembly in March=April earlier this year with a discussion on the issue of the Supreme Court's guidelines to the state government in the matter of the proposed Police Act.

During the course of the discussion some MLAs had also made references over the working of the courts, pendency of cases and instances of corruption among court staff.

Later a public interest litigation petition for alleged contempt of court was filed in the Rajasthan High Court against the concerned MLAs.

UNI