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Bombay HC forfeits Rs 12 lakh deposited by BJP MLA Gurush Mahajan, another while dismissing their PIL – India Today

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by BJP MLA Girish Mahajan and another person named Janak Vyas on the issue of the election of Maharashtra Assembly speaker and deputy speaker. The court also forfeited the amount that had been paid by them before the court started hearing their plea.

During the last hearing, the Bombay HC had asked Vyas and then Mahajan to deposit Rs 2 lakh and Rs 10 lakh before the hearing as the Advocate General, representing the Maharashtra government, had stated that he had serious objections to these issues being raised in a PIL.

The PIL pertained to a recent amendment in the Maharashtra Assembly regarding the election of the speaker and deputy speaker.

The court, during the proceedings, also came down heavily on the way the State of Maharashtra had been functioning.

Chief Justice Datta said, “The unfortunate part is that the two highest functionaries do not trust each other. You both please sit together and sort this out between yourselves. There is always the other side of the coin. We all read. The governor and the chief minister are not on the same page and who is suffering in all this?”

The bench, on Wednesday, referred to its own judgement passed last year on the issue of appointment of 12 MLCs where Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari had not approved the 12 names suggested by the Chief Minister’s office. The bench has refused to order the governor as it said it cannot do so. However, the bench had reminded the governor that he had a duty. The bench had said, “Should there be any misunderstanding or miscommunication between two constitutional authorities or functionaries, then the right direction has to be followed.”

Referring to that judgement the bench said, “We are also a constitutional court. How have we been treated? We had passed an order on the 12 MLCs case. Today, we are in March 2022. Eight months have passed and still nothing has happened. Erase all these differences. Your ramblings do not take the state forward. The chief minister is the head of the executive. He has to run the state. We cannot say either of them is wrong. Has democracy died because the governor hasn’t nominated 12 MLCs, an issue graver than the present? Our democracy is not as fickle/brittle.”

Mahajan and others were suspended by the Assembly for a year in July 2021. However, in January this year, the Supreme Court granted them relief.

Mahajan’s lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani pointed to the fact that when the amendment of rules was made, it was in Mahajan’s suspension period. At this, Chief Justice Datta said, “Say if there are rules made in your absence that effect the public at large in your absence, so can you come back and say that whatever happened there, can you say that the decision should be reversed? Can that be done? Can you seek a reversal? No. It cannot be done.”

Jethmalani said that people at large are being affected due to the amendment. At this, Chief Justice Datta said, “The public is least concerned with the election of speaker and deputy speaker. Just ask in this very courtroom who is the Lok Sabha speaker. How many will be able to reply? Until and unless this deals with the public at large, this cannot be entertained in a public interest litigation.”

Chief Justice Datta asked, “What is the chief minister doing? He is only requesting the governor to fix a date for the speaker election.”

Jethmalani said, “He cannot do that. He cannot ask the governor at all.” He further added, “The purpose of the courts is to ensure that everybody remains within their boundaries. This is a plea only for good governance and the courts can do it. All this was done surreptitiously. Everyone was informed only in September when it was done just a few days after the suspension of Mahajan and others.”

Advocate Subhash Jha, arguing for petitioner Janak Vyas, too tried to convince the court that at least a reply from the state was warranted for them to say if there was a violation or not. Chief Justice Datta read out the rules and stated that the rules do not say anywhere the chief minister is unilaterally taking a decision to appoint speaker and deputy speaker. He is only taking a decision on the date of election, noted the court.

Source: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/bombay-hc-forfeits-rs-12-lakh-deposited-by-bjp-mla-gurush-mahajan-another-while-dismissing-their-pil-1922727-2022-03-09