The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker to conduct a floor test on Friday that left the fate of the 15-month-old Kamal Nath government hanging by a thread after the resignation of 22 Congress MLAs.
The numbers are stacked heavily against the Congress government which teetered to a brink of collapse after the resignations of the 22 rebel MLAs stated to be supporters of Jyotiraditya Scindia, who quit the Congress in a coordinated revolt on March 10. Scindia later joined the BJP.
Observing that the state of uncertainty in MP must be "effectively resolved", the court ordered Speaker N P Prajapati to reconvene a special session with the "single agenda" before the assembly whether the Congress government continues to enjoy the confidence of the House.
Further directing that voting shall take place by "show of hands", the court said the proceedings must conclude by 5 pm.
"The proceedings before the legislative assembly shall be video-graphed and, if a provision exists for live telecast of the proceedings, this shall in addition be ensured," it
The directions by an apex court bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and Hemant Gupta were part of eight interim orders after conclusion of two-day long marathon hearing on cross pleas of former chief minister and senior BJP leader Shivraj Singh Chouhan and of MP Congress party.
The opposition BJP has demanded an immediate floor test to test the majority of the Congress government while the Congress said it should be deferred till by-polls for the vacant seats arising out of the resignations are concluded.
Resignations of six Congress MLAs, who are ministers, have been accepted by the Speaker, while a decision is pending on the remaining 16 legislators.
In the 230-member Assembly, the current strength of the Congress is 108 (resignations of 16 of its legislators are on hold).
If the resignations of the 16 Congress MLAs are accepted by the Speaker or if the legislators who are holed up in a resort in Bengaluru abstain during the floor test the ruling party's strength will reduce to 92.
The House strength will then reduce to 206 with 104 being the required majority for the Congress to win the floor test which is improbable given the current scenario.
The BSP has two MLAs, while the SP has one and there are four independents.
All the seven had extended their support to the Congress during the formation of the government in December 2018 but their backing will not be enough for the government to survive.
On the other hand, the opposition BJP has 107 members in the house.
The BJP had paraded 106 legislators before the Governor on Monday. One of its MLAs, Narayan Tripathi, was absent during the parade and was seen with Congress MLAs after assembly proceedings that day.
Chief Minister Kamal Nath took to Twitter to give his response, saying his government will seek legal advice and study every aspect of the judgment on holding a floor test before taking a decision on it.
"We will study every aspect of the Supreme Court order, discuss it with our legal experts and take a decision on the basis of their advise," he said.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan welcomed the verdict and said the government will fall in the floor test. "The government will not be able to clear the floor test," he told reporters.
"The session of the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly which has been deferred to March 26, 2020 shall be reconvened on March 20. The meeting to be convened ...shall be confined to a single agenda, namely, whether the government of the incumbent Chief Minister continues to enjoy the confidence of the House," the apex court said.
With regard to 16 rebel Congress MLAs who are presently in Bengaluru, the top court directed the Director General of Police of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh to ensure that there shall be no restraint or hindrance on any of them taking recourse to their rights and liberties as citizens.
"In the event that they or any of them opt to attend the session of the Legislative Assembly, arrangements for their security shall be provided by all the concerned authorities," it ordered.
Taking note of Governor Lalji Tandon's letter that there was no provision of recording of division of votes in MP assembly by pressing of buttons, it said voting shall take place "by show of hands".
The court also directed the authorities, including the Legislative Secretary, to ensure that there is "no breach of law and order" during floor test which should be conducted in a peaceful manner.
The court fixed the deadline for conclusion of the floor test and said that it "shall be concluded by 5.00 pm on March 20."
The bench said senior lawyers, Kapil Sibal, A M S Singhvi and Vivek Tankha, appearing for Kamal Nath, the Speaker and the state government respectively, have assailed the communication of the Governor to convene the floor test.
It also observed that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the governor, and senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Maninder Singh, apeparing for Chouhan and rebel Congress MLAs respectively, supported the communication of the governor.
"The submissions which have been urged before the court would necessitate a judgment which would take some time to be delivered," the bench said.
Earlier on March 16, Chouhan, a three-time Chief Minister of the state and nine BJP lawmakers, including the leader of opposition and BJP's Chief Whip in the Assembly, had knocked the doors of the top court just after the Speaker cited coronavirus concerns and adjourned the House till March 26 without taking the floor test apparently defying the directions of the Governor.
Chouhan had sought immediate floor test in the assembly as directed by the Governor.
The plea alleged that after the resignations of 22 Congress MLAs the government has lost the majority in the House and "it has no moral, legal, democratic or constitutional right to remain in power even for a single day".
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