KOCHI: Former Government Chief Whip P C George on Wednesday approached the Kerala High Court seeking to quash the order of the Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly disqualifying him as member of the assembly.
P C George submitted that he did not act against any directions of Kerala Congress (M) to which he belong and there could be no inference to the effect that the petitioner had voluntarily given up the membership of the party.
In the course of the enquiry based on the complaint filed by Government Chief Whip Thomas Unniyadan, the petitioner submitted his resignation from the membership of the Legislative Assembly. The proviso to the Article enables the Speaker to conduct an inquiry to find out if the resignation is voluntarily. George submitted that the proviso has no relevance in this case as he had personally handed over his resignation letter. There was no information or materials for the Speaker to take a contradictory decision. However, the Speaker declined to accept the letter and disqualified him on the basis of the petition filed by Thomas Unniyadan.
George Submitted that, the Supreme Court on many occasions had stated that unseating an elected member of the Assembly should be for very valid reasons. The action of the Speaker is contrary to law, George submitted.