Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde : Live Updates From Supreme Court In Shiv Sena Case [March 14]
Kaul: Governor will only look at the evidence in front of him. He can't be asked to conduct an inquiry with the same rigour as the election commission...When overwhelming nos of MLAs withdraw support, what is he to do but act on the material.
Kaul: If material is available before governor to reach an informed decision like this, what is wrong with it?
Kohli J: What about excess use of power?
Kaul: That should be seen in every case.
Kohli J: How many times has this power been properly exercised in recent examples?
Kaul: I'll find out. But, let us assume that no such case. So what? If a governor is within their powers & no prohibition, governor not bound by precedents.
Kaul: If a governor is satisfied that a govt has lost confidence of the house, it is the duty of the governor to call a floor test.
Kaul: There are three fundamental principles, governor cannot do a head count in Raj Bhavan, prima facie view to be taken on cogent material, & floor test at the earliest possible instance, because it is the litmus test of democracy.
Kaul: ...There may be rarest of rare cases where court has to intervene. But that is not to say this court should start deciding these matters. The court cannot act as a court of first instance with respect to disqualification of MLA/MP.
Shah J: Your submission is that only in exceptional cases (such as in Rana), court may interfere at the stage of disqualification. In other cases, this must be left to the speaker.
Kaul: That is what the Constitution provides for.
Kaul: In Keisham Singh itself, Nariman J had said a time limit should be fixed. Therefore, this very pertinent question of timeline does stand answered by this decision.
Kaul: At the same time, Your Lordships very pertinently asked whether speaker can then hold on to this decision indefinitely. This is what Nariman J had also discussed in Keisham Singh while interpreting Rajendra Singh Rana...
Kaul: ...While disqualification petition is pending, the legislator should be allowed to participate & vote. Otherwise, there would be a danger to bedrock of democracy. A minority govt would be allowed to continue indefinitely.