Former Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav, who has been disqualified as an MP by the Rajya Sabha chairman, cannot draw his salary, allowances or perks entitled to him as a Member of Parliament, the Supreme Court said today.
The top court modified the Delhi High Court order passed last year by which it had allowed Yadav to draw salary, allowances and perks till the pendency of his plea challenging the disqualification as an MP from the Rajya Sabha.
A vacation bench of justices A K Goel and Ashok Bhushan, however, allowed him to retain his official bungalow, as ordered by the high court on December 15 last year.
The apex court's decision came on a plea by JD (U)'s Rajya Sabha member Ramchandra Prasad Singh challenging the high court's interim order.
At the outset, senior advocate S Guru Krishna Kumar, appearing for Yadav, said that he was ready to forgo his salary, allowances and perks but he should be allowed to retain his official residence till the pendency of the petition in the high court.
Also Read
He said that pending further orders of the high court, he will not draw any remuneration or other perks.
The bench questioned the high court's direction allowing Yadav get the remuneration when he had been disqualified by the chairman of the Upper House.
"We will modify the order of the high court directing payment of salary, allowances and perks. As far as official residence is concerned, that part we are not touching and he can stay there till the pendency of his petition," the bench said.
Senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing Singh, said that the order of the high court should be modified as Yadav cannot be allowed to get salary and retain the official residence here since he was disqualified on December 4 last year.
Kumar said a direction should be passed that Yadav's petition before the high court be decided expeditiously by a division bench.
To this, the bench said, "Since on account of delay in proceedings the election to the vacant posts in case may be delayed, we request the high court to decide the writ petition at the earliest."
It said that since the matter is listed in the high court on July 12, no party shall seek any adjournment and the issue be adjudicated at the earliest
The bench referred to an apex court verdict and directed that the matter may now be placed on the next date before a division bench of the high court and disposed of the petition.
On December 15 last year, the high court had refused to grant interim stay on Yadav's disqualification as a Rajya Sabha member.
The interim order of the high court had come on Yadav's plea challenging his disqualification on several grounds, including that he was not given any chance to present his case by the Rajya Sabha chairman before passing an order against him and his colleague and then MP Ali Anwar on December 4, 2017.
On May 18, the top court had agreed to hear the appeal filed by Singh against the high court order and had issued a notice to Yadav.
Singh, the JD(U) leader in the Upper House, had sought their disqualification on the ground that they had attended a rally of opposition parties in Patna in violation of the party's directives.
Yadav had joined hands with the opposition after JD(U) president and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar dumped his party's alliance with the RJD and the Congress in the state and tied up with the BJP in July last year.
Yadav was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2016 and his term was scheduled to end in July 2022. Anwar's term as a Rajya Sabha member expired in April. Both were disqualified under the anti-defection law.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
