BJP MLA Girish Mahajan is told by the Bombay High Court to "prove your bona fides by depositing Rs 10 lakh in the register"

On Friday, the Bombay High Court ordered BJP member Girish Mahajan to deposit Rs 10 lakhs with the court's registry as a condition of hearing his PIL challenging the Maharashtra government's revisions to the rules governing the election of the state legislative assembly's speaker. The HC stated that it's suspected Mahajan's sincerity because he contacted it at the eleventh hour.

Mahajan filed a petition with Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Makarand Karnik, challenging the state's decision to change Rules 6 and 7 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly (MLA) rules.

 

These rules govern the election of the speaker and deputy speaker of the House of Representatives. The state has replaced the 'secret ballot' system with a 'voice vote,' according to a governmental notification released in December 2021. It has also abolished the deputy speaker election procedure, opting instead to 'select' one. Furthermore, the Governor's responsibilities have been limited to announcing the election date, and the Chief Minister has been given these powers.

 

Mahajan urged the bench to overturn the state notification, calling the revisions "arbitrary and in gross violation of the Constitution of India." Despite the fact that the notification was issued in December 2021, Mahajan filed his petition with the HC only 10 days before the election. "You (Mahajan) are a sitting MLA who has come to this Court at the eleventh hour; where have you been for the last months?" "Because this raises doubts about your sincerity," the Chief Justice remarked, "we believe it necessary that you deposit Rs 10 lakhs."

 

CJ Datta went on to say that the current case has nothing to do with the public interest because it exclusively concerns the Governor's authority and the Speaker's election. "This Court normally intervene in state decisions only in circumstances involving personal liberty or where lives are at stake," CJ Datta explained, adding, "Why this political war before the High Court?" During the hearing, one of the petitioners' lawyer, Abhinav Chandrachud, argued that the state's move to 'transfer' Governor powers to the Chief Minister was 'unconstitutional.'

 

 

Image Courtesy: Twitter @girishdmahajan