Not Speaker, but independent body should decide on disqualifications: SC to Parliament

New Delhi, Jan 21: The Supreme Court on Tuesday suggested that an independent and permanent body decide disqualification petitions against MPs and MLAs, instead of the Speaker retaining exclusive powers.

"It was high time that the Parliament should revisit the rationale in giving exclusive powers to the Speaker for deciding disqualification petitions," pointed out a three-judge bench, headed by Justice Rohinton F Nariman.

The apex court was hearing a petition challenging the disqualification of T Shyamkumar from the Manipur Assembly. It gave the Manipur Assembly Speaker four weeks to decide on the petition, after which it granted the petitioner the liberty to approach it again if a decision was not taken.

The bench had granted liberty to Congress MLA Fajur Rahim and K Meghachandra to approach it again if the Assembly Speaker failed to take a decision within four weeks on their plea seeking disqualification of the BJP minister.

The BJP minister had won the Assembly election on a Congress ticket and later joined the BJP and became a minister. This led to the filing of the plea seeking his disqualification.