Supreme Court bench headed by Justice RF Nariman on 21.01.2020 desired Parliament to rethink over the power of Speaker to disqualify MLAs, because of Speaker being a member of some political party, mostly of ruling party. Evidently Speakers in state-assemblies, having party affiliations, at times have openly misused their power in favor of their political leanings.
Better is to reform system of electing Speaker, Deputy Speaker and also of electing Chief Ministers. Speaker should be elected simultaneously with Chief Minister and Deputy Speaker by secret and compulsory vote through EVMs equipped with VVPAT on nominations signed by at least 34-percent members with abstaining members losing right to vote in the House though retaining membership. Such elected incumbents may be removed through same process but with compulsion to name alternate leader in the same motion. System will tend to bring comparatively un-biased person on post of Speaker, and will eliminate role of Speaker in biased proceedings in case of making and unmaking of Chief Ministers.
It is often observed, that while the presiding officers of Indian assemblies have shown their tilt towards the treasury benches in house proceedings, their conduct become most crucial during the confidence-vote motions and subsequent proceeding against the legislators who defy the whips of their affiliated parties. This anti-defection law in India could not infuse the confidence of fairness among the masses when the practice of horse-trading goes open and brazen at the crucial time of defections caused to dislodge the government in seat.
The proceedings of disqualification, if at all get carried, invariably takes long and incredible. Keeping view such eventualities of making and unmaking of Chief Ministers in the states, one can safely says that the party nominee Speaker may flout or relax the norms to the advantage of the ruling dispensation. Thus in all its fairness, the Apex Court has rightly expressed its desire that the Parliament should rethink over issue of speakers' power to disqualify the MLAs.
