Karnataka Assembly session adjourned, trust vote on Monday

In yet another twist to the ongoing drama in Karnataka, the Congress moved the Supreme Court seeking clarification on the party’s right to issue a whip to its legislators, local TV channels reported.

In a petition filed by its state unit chief Dinesh Gundu Rao, the party has asked how does it deal with legislators who defy it’s whip issued under the rights vested in it under the tenth schedule of the Constitution.

In its interim order earlier this week, the SC had said the party can’t force legislators who had resigned to attend the proceedings. The petition is likely to further delay the outcome of the trust vote being currently discussed in the assembly.

In its petition, Rao has argued that as a result of the order dated July 17, the constitutional rights of the applicant under the Tenth Schedule are vitally affected.

In its order, the SC had said, “We also make it clear that until further orders, the 15 members of the Assembly ought not to be compelled to participate in the proceedings of the ongoing session of the House and an option should be given to them that they can take part in the said proceedings or to opt to remain out of the same.”

Rao said the order has been passed without even arraying the Congress Legislature Party which presently has 79 MLAs in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly.

According to the petition, under the Tenth Schedule, a political party has a constitutional right to issue a whip to its legislators. The exercise of this right under the Constitution is not circumscribed by any condition nor can it be subject to any restrictive orders from the Court even prior to the issuance of the whip.

More importantly, any enquiry for the purposes of the Tenth Schedule is a proceeding of the Legislature of the State within the meaning of Article 212 of the Constitution.