D8217;Souza group8217;s disqualification quashed

PANAJI, SEPT 7: The Panaji Bench of Bombay High Court today paved way for the Wilfred D'Souza government's vote of confidence tomorrow wh...

PANAJI, SEPT 7: The Panaji Bench of Bombay High Court today paved way for the Wilfred D8217;Souza government8217;s vote of confidence tomorrow when it quashed Speaker Tomazinho Cardozo8217;s order disqualifying the chief minister and nine other legislators from the membership of the Goa Assembly.

In their sharply worded judgement, a Division Bench of Justice R K Bhatta and J A Patil passed strictures against Cardozo for conducting the proceedings of the House in a partisan and biased manner through which he disqualified D8217;Souza and nine other former Congress legislators who broke away to form the Goa Rajiv Congress and a new government in July.

Earlier in an interim order on August 18, the court had stayed the operation of the order passed by Cardozo.

Striking the Speaker8217;s decision to disqualify the legislators under the Anti-Defection Act on the ground that the split in the House did not accompany a split in the party, the court ruled that there was a simultaneous split in the party as some members of the breakaway group were members of the All India Congress Committee.

The court also rejected the Speaker8217;s contention that the split was illegal as five of the breakaway group were expelled from the parent party. In its judgement, the court noted that the legislators continued to be members of the Congress Legislature Party even if they were expelled from the parent party.

It said the Speaker had deliberately tried to place hurdles in the way of D8217;Souza from seeking a vote of confidence as directed by Governor JFR Jacob. The court also castigated the Speaker for deliberately withholding the disqualification order on the 10 legislators. Though the order was passed in the evening of August 14, it was delivered to the petitioners only on August 17 after the commencement of the hearing.

The Speaker8217;s excuse that the order could not be delivered earlier due to the intervening Independence Day weekend was rejected by the court. The Speaker, the judge said, should be like Ceasar8217;s wife 8211; above suspicion.

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The court also hoped that the Speaker would keep in mind its judgement when he decides on a fresh disqualification petition against the same group of legislators filed by former information minister Dominic Fernandes.

The Speaker had earlier disqualified the group on a petition filed by deposed chief minister Pratapsinh Rane and former sports minister Wilfred Mesquita.

Following the high court order today, D8217;Souza will seek a vote of confidence in the Assembly tomorrow morning.

In a related development, the Supreme Court today declined to pass any order on Rane8217;s plea to restrain the coalition government from taking major policy decisions. Rane had appealed in the apex court against the order of the Panaji bench of the Bombay High Court, which last month dismissed his petition challenging the validity of the governor8217;s order dismissing his government.

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The petition will come up before the apex court next Monday. Following the strictures passed against Cardozo, the clamour for his dismissal has gained momentum.

Meanwhile, Law Minister D Kashinath Jhalmi has expressed fears that Cardozo could scuttle tomorrow8217;s vote of confidence by adjourning the House sine die soon after it is convened.

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