CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court will on October 29 consider BJD chief whip Pramila Mallik’s plea to approach the Odisha Assembly Speaker afresh with petitions seeking disqualification of eight party MLAs over alleged cross-voting in the March Rajya Sabha elections, instead of proceeding with adjudication of her existing writ petitions.
Justice Mruganka Sekhar Sahoo recorded the submission of senior advocate Milan Kanungo, appearing for Mallik, that he had clear instructions from his client to approach the Speaker again by filing fresh applications in the prescribed format under Rules 6(6) and 6(7) of the Members of Odisha Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on Ground of Defection) Rules, 1987.
Justice Sahoo observed that if the petitioner wished to approach the Speaker afresh, it need not enter into the adjudicatory process concerning either the maintainability of the writ petitions in their present form or their merits.
Kanungo referred to the Speaker’s June 19 notification rejecting the disqualification petitions and submitted that the procedural defects pointed out by the Speaker were curable. Mallik would comply with the prescribed rules and other relevant provisions while filing fresh applications, he told the court.
In the notification, the Speaker had emphasised the importance of strictly following the procedural requirements governing disqualification petitions under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution. The Speaker had observed that such proceedings were quasi-judicial in nature and could have serious consequences for an elected member’s right to continue in office for the full term.
Disqualification could also affect the electorate’s mandate, the notification stated, cautioning against entertaining petitions filed in violation of the prescribed rules.
The matter was taken up by Justice Sahoo after Justice RK Pattanaik recused himself from hearing Mallik’s petitions. The Chief Justice subsequently through an administrative order assigned the cases to Justice Sahoo. Five of the eight petitions, concerning suspended BJD MLAs Arvind Mohapatra, Souvic Biswal, Sanatan Mahakud, Chakramani Kanhar and Subasini Jena, were taken up for consideration.
