SC keeps 3 J'khand MLAs waiting

Three days before the Jharkhand assembly takes up the confidence vote by the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on September 14, the three opposition legislators, who face disqualification threat, suffered a setback on Monday when the Supreme Court did not pass any order on their petitions challenging the notices issued to them by the Speaker.

To add to their trouble, Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari gave them just two days time as against the two weeks sought by them to reply to his notices on petitions seeking their disqualification.

In Delhi, an apex court bench comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice D K Jain heard for an hour arguments on the petitions filed by legislators Enos Ekka, Kamlesh Kumar Singh and Stephen Marandi, challenging the Speaker's notices to them on the disqualification move but did not give them any relief and posted the matter for further hearing on September 14.

Namdhari said he will hear the petitions on September 13, a day before the Supreme Court hears the legislators' petitions again and Chief Minister Arjun Munda moves the trust motion after his government was reduced to a minority following the resignation of four ministers -- Ekka, Kamlesh Singh, Harinarain Rai and Madhu Kora.

The counsels of Ekka, Singh and Marandi alleged before the apex court that the Speaker had acted in a malafide and 'biased' manner by issuing them notices prior to the floor test. Opposing the contention, senior lawyer Soli Sorabjee rejected the charge of bias against the Speaker and said that by challenging Namdhari's notices, the three legislators were trying to convert the court into an election tribunal.

Ekka (Independent) and Singh (Nationalist Congress Party) were among the four ministers who resigned and withdrew support to Munda government reducing it to a minority. Petitions against Singh and Ekka had been pending at the Speaker's office since last year.

The two face charges for flouting party whips. Stephen Marandi, an Independent legislator, has been issued disqualification after being accused by BJP legislators Chandra Oraon and Putkar Hembrom of joining Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Democratic), which they alleged was a political party.

BJP legislators Saryu Roy and Dinesh Sarangi had petitioned the Speaker seeking the disqualification of Kamlesh Singh for allegedly flouting the whip during government-formation last year and that he switched sides thrice.