SC Vindicates Governor Vajubhai Vala’s Decision On Pro-Tem Speaker, Says Convention Not Legal Norm To Be Enforced By Court

Dealing a blow to the Congress who had gone ahead and declared that Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to make K G Bopaiah the pro-tem speaker as unconstitutional and illegal, the Supreme Court today (19 May) said that the law couldn’t direct the head of state to appoint a particular person in the role as it was merely convention and not a legal norm.

.The Supreme Court also ordered a live broadcast of the floor test, adding that it would encourage transparency while rejecting the Congress and Janata Dal Secular (JD(S))‘s plea challenging Bopaiah’s appointment.

Talking to the media, senior Congress lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed that his objective all along was to establish transparency. Representing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mukul Rohatgi said that the desperate attempts by the Congress were being rejected by the judiciary.

Meanwhile in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, former chief minister Siddaramaiah and several others took oath as members of the legislative assembly. Both Yeddyurappa and B Sriramulu have submitted their resignations as members of the Lok Sabha which Speaker Sumitra Mahajan has accepted.

Sriramulu lost the election to former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Badami by a margin of 1,696 votes. He is likely to join the Karnataka Legislative Council.

Two Congress MLAs – Anand Singh and Pratap Gowda Patil – did not turn up to take their oaths.