Soon after Parliament was adjourned sine die, officials worked right through the night and into the early hours this morning to finalise the draft of the ordinance to amend Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act on “office of profit.” As first reported by The Indian Express, the ordinance included National Advisory Council chairperson and the office of ICCR chief in several offices exempt from the profit tag. The ordinance was to be enacted as Act No 7 of 2006. But then came Sonia Gandhi’s resignation. With Prime Minister Manmohan Singh now saying that “all options (an ordinance or a bill) are kept open,” the government can introduce the ready ordinance itself as a Bill when the House re-convenes around May 10. Given that all parties are in favour of such a legislation—from the Left in West Bengal to even the NDA in Jharkhand face the dilemma—the Centre would go for a “consensus” asking all parties to decide on the next step. Legal experts say that the ordinance and the law (to be passed after getting the ordinance introduced as a Bill in both Houses of Parliament) would be “retrospective” in effect. They cited a 1967 case of one Mrs. Kathuria, holder of office of Special Government Pleader under the State of Rajasthan. she was declared elected to the Assembly. Her election was challenged on the grounds that she held an office of profit. Before the petition could be heard, the Rajasthan Legislature passed an Act entitled Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Members (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1968 which removed Kathuria’s disqualification retrospectively. A five-member Bench of the Supreme Court then held that the Constitution recognised the power with the Legislature to remove the disqualification and Legislature had the power to pass retrospective law.
