Delhi HC Dismisses PIL Seeking Appointment of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha

The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a writ petition seeking directions to be given to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha to appoint a Leader of Opposition. The court noted that there's no statutory provision that mandates the appointment of a Leader of Opposition.

The petition filed by Manmohan Singh and Shishmta Kumari mentioned that the procedure of appointing the Leader of Opposition is laid down in Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 which doesn't envisage any arithmetic requirement of 10%. Since the Congress Party is the largest opposition party in the House with 52 seats, the Speaker violated the Rule of Law by not following the aforementioned provision. The petitioners also argued that delay in appointment of Leader of Opposition creates a bottleneck in the appointments to bodies such as Central Vigilance Commission, Lokpal, National Human Rights Commission, etc. as the said leader plays a key role in the same.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Patel and Justice Hair Shanker rejected the claims of the petitioners by opining that there's no statutory provision that obligates the appointment of a Leader of the Opposition. The bench noted that it is the prerogative of the Speaker of the Lower House, and not this court, to make and maintain rules governing appointment of the Leader of Opposition. The court also rejected the claim that the presence of Leader of Opposition is indispensable for the appointments to be made to bodies such as CVC, NHRC, Lokpal, etc.

The court highlighted that an earlier order of the Division Bench of this very court had dismissed a petition on similar facts in 2015. Therefore, there are no reasons for the court to entertain the present petition.