Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court has vacated the stay on the suo motu proceedings initiated by Speaker Ravindra Nath Mahto against Babulal Marandi over the issue of ‘defection’. A division bench of Chief Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad was hearing a petition filed by Marandi on Tuesday when it lifted its earlier order that clamped a stay on the Speaker’s proceedings in the matter.
The division bench had heard the matter at length earlier on January 14 and reserved its order. The bench took note of the statement of the Speaker who in his affidavit had assured the court that he will not proceed against Marandi in the alleged defection matter. Earlier the Speaker had initiated the proceedings against Marandi on his own but on it being challenged before the high court, other legislators from ruling alliance made formal complaints against Marandi seeking prosecution from the Speaker’s office.
The high court, however, maintained that though the order of stay on proceedings against Marandi has been lifted, the larger question with regards to the power of the Speaker to initiate suo motu proceedings on defection matter still remains to be answered.
Marandi had challenged the issuance of a notice upon him earlier on November 2 last year by the Speaker informing him of initiation of proceedings for defection under the Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha Sadasya (Dal Parivartan ke Aadhar par Nirharta) Rules, 2006 (3rd Edition, 2019). The Speaker had on his own taken cognizance against Marandi for joining the BJP and issued notice for defection. The vires of the Rules had also been challenged by Marandi.
Marandi in his petition said that the Speaker is not empowered to initiate proceedings against any member of the legislative assembly on his own. The Speaker derives powers from the Rules which are an offshoot of the Xth Schedule of the Constitution which lays the guidelines in case of defection by a member of an Assembly.
Matters of defection can only be “referred” before a Speaker for him to initiate further action either by a member of the legislative assembly or by any other person aggrieved by such defection, Marandi had said. His counsels argued before the court that though the Speaker has assured that he will not proceed against him, the proceeding has still not been dropped. The case will again be heard on March 2.