New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday upheld Governor Lalji Tandon’s decision to order a floor test in the Madhya Pradesh state assembly in March, after 22 MLAs resigned.
The bench, comprising Justice D.Y. Chandrachud and Justice Hemant Gupta, lamented political horse-trading, asserting that the “spectacle of rival political parties whisking away their political flock to safe destinations does little credit to the state of our democratic politics”.
Relying on its landmark nine-judge S R Bomai 1994 verdict, the court said the governor was right in calling for a trust vote.
On 19 March, the top court had asked MP Assembly Speaker N.P. Prajapati to reconvene a special session the next day to conduct the floor test. Chief Minister Kamal Nath was then leading a minority government after powerful Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s defection to the BJP along with 22 MLAs, including six ministers.
The floor test, however, did not take place as Kamal Nath resigned on the morning of 20 March, clearing the decks for a return of BJP govt to Madhya Pradesh.
Read the full judgment here:
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