Speaker facing ouster can't expel legislators: Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The SC has for the first time restricted the powers of Parliament and assembly Speakers to disqualify members when they face motions for their removal.

A speaker disqualifying members of the House during the pendency of his removal motion amounts to furthering his own interests, which is unconstitutional, a five-judge bench held on Wednesday. The speaker must first pass the floor test to prove he enjoys the House's confidence before deciding against members.

"It'd be constitutionally impermissible for a speaker to adjudicate upon disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule while a notice of resolution for his own removal from the office of speaker is pending," Justices J S Khehar, Dipak Misra, Madan B Lokur, P C Ghose and N VRamana said.

"Constitutional purpose and harmony would be maintained if a speaker refrains from adjudication of a petition for disqualification under the Tenth Schedule whilst his own position, as speaker, is under challenge," it said.

The SC said there was a real possibility of a speaker deciding a disqualification application on political consideration to save the government and there was a need to curb the power of the captain of the House to ensure that MLAs aren't victimised.

"When the position of a speaker is under challenge, it'd seem just that the Speaker first demonstrates his right to continue...by winning support of the majority...," the court said.

"The speaker is expected to have a sense of elevated independence, impeccable objectivity and irreproachable fairness and...absolute impartiality . This expectation is the constitutional warrant, not a fond hope," Justice Dipak Misra, who wrote a separate but concurrent judgement, said. He added: "It is required that his conduct shouldn't only be impartial but such impartiality should be perceptible. It should be beyond any reproach."