On Monday, the new CM of Karnataka, B.S. Yeddyurappa, who has been invited by the Governor to form the government must prove his majority on the floor of the House. Former Advocate General BV. Acharya. argues in favour, quoting the landmark judgment in the S.R. Bommai case. Supreme Court lawyer K.V. Dhananjay calls the move a ‘blunder’...
Crossing halfway mark is not the key: B.V. Acharya
The Supreme Court has made it clear, through the landmark case of S.R. Bommai, that it is not the job of the governor to count heads and see which party has the majority. Such exercises are not the concern of the governor. But, he must be satisfied that the party he has invited to form the government has the confidence of the House. That, if any bill or motion of confidence is introduced, the person concerned is in a position to get it passed.
In the present situation, there is no law that requires a party to have meet the halfway-plus-one mark for a Bill or confidence motion to be passed. It is only a question of the number of members present and voting, with which the Governor must be satisfied. In the present scenario, this condition was met on July 23, when Mr Kumaraswamy lost the confidence vote on the floor of the house.
BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa has reportedly called for a meeting on Monday and in the normal course, it is believed that those members who are away (absentees) will not come back. Also, the strength of the house has come down with the disqualification of three members. If the Speaker disqualifies the rest, or accepts their resignations, the coalition's numbers will fall further and Mr Yeddyurappa may even cross the halfway mark on his own, without the support of others.
The question here is not whether they will reach the halfway mark but whether Mr Yeddyurappa can get the Confidence Motion passed, considering the total strength on the day votes are sought on the floor of the house. The Governor would have also asked Mr Yeddyurappa to prove his majority on the floor of the house, which, according to me, has already been proven in the light of the voting that took place on July 23.
Hence, the governor's concern will be wither the person concerned is in the position to form a stable government and if that Motion of Confidence can be proved on the floor of the house.
(The writer is former Advocate-General, Karnataka)
