Split at party8217;s national level doesn8217;t affect state unit

CHANDIGARH, May 30: In a landmark judgement, a full bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a legislature party is only a...

CHANDIGARH, May 30: In a landmark judgement, a full bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a legislature party is only a wing of a political party, and there can be no split within the former unless there is one at the party8217;s national or state level.

The bench also held that a split at a party8217;s national level has no impact or bearing on its state unit. The latter remains 8220;separate8221; and maintains its original form, the court has said.

The judgement was passed by a bench comprising Chief Justice K Sreedharan, Justice N K Sodhi and Justice T H B Chalapathi, while disposing of five petitions involving party splits and defection of MLAs.

By this verdict, the HC has quashed an order passed by the Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, and disqualified Kharaiti Lal Sharma, an MLA, beginning April 10, 1992. All necessary steps in the case will follow from that date.

The order was passed on a petition filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party8217;s BJP Ram Bilas Sharma, who had demanded that Kharaiti Lal be disqualified for defecting from the party8217;s legislative wing to the Congress. Ordering Kharaiti Lal8217;s disqualification, Justice Chalapathi observed that there had been no split in the BJP at the national or state level and the MLA8217;s leaving the party thus violated the anti-defection law. He also noted that Kharaiti Lal had joined the Congress without claiming any split in the BJP8217;s state unit.

Under Para 3 of Schedule 10 of the Constitution, a split is said to have taken place in a party if more than 1/3rd of its members decide to form a new party.

By the same argument, the HC upheld an order passed by the Punjab Deputy Speaker in recognising a split initiated by Ramesh Dutt Sharma and Harbans Lal, who had been elected as MLAs on BJP tickets. The court dismissed the petition moved by Madan Mohan Mittal, a BJP MLA, who had demanded the disqualification of the two under the anti-defection law.

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The court ruled that as Sharma and Harbans Lal constituted 1/3rd of the strength of the BJP 8211; the party had a total of six members in the House 8211; a split by them was valid.

The judges also dismissed a petition challenging the joining of Baldev Singh Balamgarh, formerly a United Communist Party of India UCPI MLA, with the Congress. Balamgarh, who was the UCPI8217;s lone elected member in the Punjab House, had written to the Speaker that the UCPI had merged with the Congress and hence he was joining the latter.