Supreme Court - Daily OrdersDr. G. Parmeshwara vs Union Of India Ministry Of Home Affairs on 17 May, 2018Bench:A.K. Sikri,S.A. Bobde,Ashok Bhushan1

                                               REVISED

     ITEM NO.301                           COURT NO.6               SECTION X

                              S U P R E M E C O U R T O F      I N D I A
                                      RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

     Writ Petition(s)(Civil)              No(s).    536/2018

     DR. G. PARMESHWARA & ANR.                                      Petitioner(s)

                                                   VERSUS

     UNION OF INDIA
     THROUGH ITS SECRETARY & ORS.                                 Respondent(s)

     WITH

     I.A. No. 75881 of 2018
     Application for direction.


     Date : 18-05-2018 This petition was called on for hearing today.

     CORAM :             HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.K. SIKRI
                         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.A. BOBDE
                         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK BHUSHAN


     For Petitioner(s)             Dr.   Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv.
                                   Mr.   Kapil Sibal, SR. Adv.
                                   Mr.   Anup Chaudhary, Sr. Adv.
                                   Mr.   V. Lakmshminarayan, Sr. Adv.
                                   Mr.   Ashok Bhan, Sr. Adv.
                                   Mr.   N.K. Mody, Sr. Adv.
                                   Mr.   Devadatt Kamat, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Prashant Kumar, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Amit Bhandhari, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Varun K. Chopra, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Nizam Pasha, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Javedur Rahman, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Aditya Bhat, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Rajesh Inamdar, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Harndar Neel, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Santosh Sharma, Adv.
                                   Ms.   Siddhi Padia, Adv.
Signature Not Verified
                                   Mr.   Sumeeta Choudhari, Adv.
                                   Ms.   R.H.A. Sikander, Adv.
Digitally signed by
ASHWANI KUMAR
Date: 2018.05.18
15:05:45 IST
Reason:                            Ms.   Dipali Dwivedi, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Siddharth K., Adv.
                                   Mr.   L. Nidhiram Sharma, Adv.
                                   Mr.   Gautam Talukdar, AOR
                                   2


                    Mr.   Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr.   V. Laxmshminarayan, Sr. Adv
                    Mr.   A.P. Ranganatha, Adv.
                    Mr.   K. Diwakar, Adv.
                    Mr.   R. Srinivasa Gowda, Adv.
                    Mr.   L. Srinivas Babu, Adv.
                    Mr.   D.K. Garg, Adv.

                    Mr.   P. Chidambaram, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr.   Sunil Fernandes, AOR
                    Mr.   Ashish Khetan, Adv.
                    Ms.   Nupur Kumar, Adv.
                    Ms.   Anju Thomas, Adv.

For Respondent(s)   Mr.   Mukul Rohatgi, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr.   S. Padhi, Adv.
                    Mr.   Kush Chaturvedi, Adv.
                    Mr.   Sandip Patil, Adv.
                    Mr.   Kavin Prabhu, Adv.
                    Mr.   Somay Kapoor, Adv.
                    Mr.   Devanshi Singh, Adv.
                    Mr.   Nikhil Rohatgi, Adv
                    Mr.   Shashank Khurana, Adv.
                    Ms.   Ranjeeta Rohatgi, AOR
                    Mr.   Samten Doma, Adv.
                    Ms.   Priyashree, Adv.
                    Mr.   Ashish Yadav, Adv.
                    Ms.   Nisha Rohtagi, Adv.
                    Ms.   Devyansha, Adv.
                    Mr.   Vivek Reddy, Sr. Adv.
                    Mr.   Shailesh Madiyal, Adv.
                    Mr.   Nishanth Patil, AOR
                    Mr.   Sandeep Patil, Adv.

                    Mr. Sudhanshu Prakash, Adv.
                    Mr. Nishanth Patil, Adv.
                    Mr. Arun Shyam, Adv.



                    Mr. K.K. Venugopal, AG
                    Mr. Maninder Singh, ASG
                    Col. R. Balasubramanian, Adv.
                    Ms. Shraddha Deshmukh, Adv.
                    Mr. Nalin Kohli, Adv.
                    Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv.
                    Mr. Prabhas Bajaj, Adv.
                    Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv.
                    Ms. Kanika Saran, Adv.
                    Ms. Aarti Sharma, Adv.
                    Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR
                                                  3


                             Mr.    Tushar Mehta, ASG
                             Mr.    Santosh N., Adv.
                             Mr.    V. N. Raghupathy, AOR
                             Mr.    Kanu Agrawal, Adv.
                             Ms.    Napur Sharma, Adv.
                             Mr.    Mohit Jhamb, Adv.


            UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
                               O R D E RIn compliance with the order dated 17.05.2018 passed by this

Court, Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, senior advocate who is appearing for

respondent       no.3,       has     produced          the    copies       of     letters       dated

15.05.2018       and     16.05.2018            which    were       addressed       by    Mr.     B.S.

Yeddyurappa, State BJP President to the Governor of Karnataka. In

the letter dated 16.05.2018 it is claimed that his party is the

single    largest       party       and   has     also       the   support        of    others       and

requisite majority. On                that basis, the request was made to the

Governor to invite him to form the Government.

    Dr.     Abhishek         Manu    Singhvi,          learned      senior      counsel        who    is

appearing for petitioner no.1 and Mr. Kapil Sibal, learned senior

counsel    who    is    appearing         for     petitioner        no.2     contend      that       the

Governor    could       not     have      invited       respondent         no.3    to    form        the

Government       on    the    basis       of    such    letters      and     have       made    brief

submissions in this behalf. These are refuted by Mr. Rohatgi.                                    In a

matter like this, detailed hearing is required in order to decide

as to whether action of the Governor in inviting respondent no.3 to

form the Government was valid in law or not. Since it may consume

substantial       time        and     the       final        decision      cannot        be     given

immediately,          we deem it proper that Floor Test to ascertain the4majority of one or the other group is conducted immediately and

without    any     delay.      Though   the       Governor    in    his    letter    dated

16.05.2018       inviting   respondent       no.3    to    form    the    Government    has

given him 15 days' time for proving the majority on the floor of

the House, having regard to all the circumstances of this case, we

are   of   the    view   that    such   a    Floor    Test    be    conducted    tomorrow

itself i.e. on 19.05.2018. Since the elected Members of Legislative

Assembly are yet to take oath as specified in Schedule III of the

Constitution and the Speaker is also yet to be elected, we are of

the view that the following procedure be followed for conducting

the Floor Test:A).   Pro-tem Speaker shall be appointed for the aforesaid purpose

immediately.B).   All the elected members shall take oath tomorrow(19.05.2018)

and this exercise shall be completed before 04.00 p.m.

C)    The Pro-tem Speaker shall conduct the Floor Test on 19.05.2018

at 04.00 P.M. in order to ascertain the majority and it                         shall not

be by secret ballot and these proceedings shall be conducted in

accordance with law.D)    Adequate and sufficient security arrangements shall be made

and Director General of Police, State of Karnataka will himself

supervise the said arrangements so that there is no lapse on this

count whatsoever.Since      the   Floor    Test    is   going    to     be    held   tomorrow     i.e.

19.05.2018 at 04.00 p.m., Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, learned senior counsel

appearing for the Chief Minister                   makes a statement at Bar that

respondent no. 3 shall not take any policy decision till the Floor5Test is conducted.Six weeks' time is granted to               the learned counsel for the

respondents to file counter affidavit.Rejoinder      affidavit,   if    any,      be    filed       within   four   weeks
thereafter.The matter shall be listed for directions after ten weeks.I.A. No. 75881 of 2018The petitioners have moved this application in which prayer is

made   to    the   effect   that   respondent       no.     3    be    restrained     from

nominating     and/or   recommending     any       member       of    the   Anglo    Indian

Community underArticle 333of the Constitution pending the floor

test of respondent no.3.Mr.   Tushar   Mehta,   learned       ASG   who    appears       for   the    State

Government makes a statement at Bar that there is no such move to

nominate any such member till the Floor Test is cleared.The interlocutory application is disposed of accordingly.(ASHWANI THAKUR)                                                (MALA KUMARI SHARMA)
COURT MASTER (SH)                                                   COURT MASTER6ITEM NO.301                 COURT NO.6                SECTION X

               S U P R E M E C O U R T O F      I N D I A
                       RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Writ Petition(s)(Civil)    No(s).    536/2018

DR. G. PARMESHWARA & ANR.                             Petitioner(s)

                                    VERSUS

UNION OF INDIA
THROUGH ITS SECRETARY & ORS.                       Respondent(s)

WITHI.A. No. 75881 of 2018Application for direction.Date : 18-05-2018 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM :   HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE A.K. SIKRI
          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE S.A. BOBDE
          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK BHUSHAN


For Petitioner(s)   Dr.   Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv.Mr.   Kapil Sibal, SR. Adv.Mr.   Anup Chaudhary, Sr. Adv.Mr.   V. Lakmshminarayan, Sr. Adv.Mr.   Ashok Bhan, Sr. Adv.Mr.   N.K. Mody, Sr. Adv.Mr.   Devadatt Kamat, Adv.Mr.   Prashant Kumar, Adv.Mr.   Amit Bhandhari, Adv.Mr.   Varun K. Chopra, Adv.Mr.   Nizam Pasha, Adv.Mr.   Javedur Rahman, Adv.Mr.   Aditya Bhat, Adv.Mr.   Rajesh Inamdar, Adv.Mr.   Harndar Neel, Adv.Mr.   Santosh Sharma, Adv.Ms.   Siddhi Padia, Adv.Mr.   Sumeeta Choudhari, Adv.Ms.   R.H.A. Sikander, Adv.Ms.   Dipali Dwivedi, Adv.Mr.   Siddharth K., Adv.Mr.   L. Nidhiram Sharma, Adv.Mr.   Gautam Talukdar, AOR

                    Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv.Mr. V. Laxmshminarayan, Sr. Adv7Mr.   A.P. Ranganatha, Adv.Mr.   K. Diwakar, Adv.Mr.   R. Srinivasa Gowda, Adv.Mr.   L. Srinivas Babu, Adv.Mr.   D.K. Garg, Adv.Mr.   P. Chidambaram, Sr. Adv.Mr.   Sunil Fernandes, AOR
                    Mr.   Ashish Khetan, Adv.Ms.   Nupur Kumar, Adv.Ms.   Anju Thomas, Adv.For Respondent(s)   Mr.   Mukul Rohatgi, Sr. Adv.Mr.   S. Padhi, Adv.Mr.   Kush Chaturvedi, Adv.Mr.   Sandip Patil, Adv.Mr.   Kavin Prabhu, Adv.Mr.   Somay Kapoor, Adv.Mr.   Devanshi Singh, Adv.Mr.   Nikhil Rohatgi, Adv
                    Mr.   Shashank Khurana, Adv.Ms.   Ranjeeta Rohatgi, AOR
                    Mr.   Samten Doma, Adv.Ms.   Priyashree, Adv.Mr.   Ashish Yadav, Adv.Ms.   Nisha Rohtagi, Adv.Ms.   Devyansha, Adv.Mr.   Vivek Reddy, Sr. Adv.Mr.   Shailesh Madiyal, Adv.Mr.   Nishanth Patil, AOR
                    Mr.   Sandeep Patil, Adv.Mr. Sudhanshu Prakash, Adv.Mr. Nishanth Patil, Adv.Mr. Arun Shyam, Adv.Mr. K.K. Venugopal, AG
                    Mr. Maninder Singh, ASG
                    Col. R. Balasubramanian, Adv.Ms. Shraddha Deshmukh, Adv.Mr. Nalin Kohli, Adv.Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv.Mr. Prabhas Bajaj, Adv.Mr. Akshay Amritanshu, Adv.Ms. Kanika Saran, Adv.Ms. Aarti Sharma, Adv.Mr. B. V. Balaram Das, AOR

                    Mr. Tushar Mehta, ASG
                    Mr. Santosh N., Adv.8Mr.     V. N. Raghupathy, AOR
                             Mr.     Kanu Agrawal, Adv.
                             Ms.     Napur Sharma, Adv.
                             Mr.     Mohit Jhamb, Adv.UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following
                               O R D E R


    In compliance with the order dated 17.05.2018 passed by this

Court, Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, senior advocate who is appearing for

respondent       no.3,       has      produced            the    copies       of     letters       dated

15.05.2018       and     16.05.2018             which      were       addressed       by    Mr.     B.S.

Yeddyurappa, State BJP President to the Governor of Karnataka. In

the letter dated 16.05.2018 it is claimed that his party is the

single    largest       party        and   has        also      the   support        of    others       and

requisite majority. On                 that basis, the request was made to the

Governor to invite him to form the Government.

    Dr.     Abhishek         Manu     Singhvi,            learned      senior      counsel        who    is

appearing for petitioner no.1 and Mr. Kapil Sibal, learned senior

counsel    who    is     appearing         for     petitioner          no.2     contend      that       the

Governor    could       not     have       invited         respondent         no.3    to    form        the

Government       on    the     basis       of    such      letters      and     have       made    brief

submissions in this behalf. These are refuted by Mr. Rohatgi.                                       In a

matter like this, detailed hearing is required in order to decide

as to whether action of the Governor in inviting respondent no.3 to

form the Government was valid in law or not. Since it may consume

substantial       time         and     the       final          decision      cannot        be     given

immediately,          we deem it proper that Floor Test to ascertain the

majority of one or the other group is conducted immediately and

without    any        delay.     Though         the       Governor      in    his     letter       dated916.05.2018       inviting   respondent      no.3    to    form   the    Government    has

given him 15 days' time for proving the majority on the floor of

the House, having regard to all the circumstances of this case, we

are   of   the    view   that   such   a    Floor   Test    be    conducted   tomorrow

itself i.e. on 19.05.2018. Since the elected Members of Legislative

Assembly are yet to take oath as specified in Schedule III of the

Constitution and the Speaker is also yet to be elected, we are of

the view that the following procedure be followed for conducting

the Floor Test:A).   Pro-tem Speaker shall be appointed for the aforesaid purpose

immediately.B).   All the elected members shall take oath tomorrow(19.05.2018)

and this exercise shall be completed before 04.00 p.m.

C)    The Pro-tem Speaker shall conduct the Floor Test on 19.05.2018

at 04.00 P.M. in order to ascertain the majority.



D)    Adequate and sufficient security arrangements shall be made

and Director General of Police, State of Karnataka will himself

supervise the said arrangements so that there is no lapse on this

count whatsoever.Since      the   Floor    Test   is   going    to    be    held   tomorrow     i.e.

19.05.2018 at 04.00 p.m., Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, learned senior counsel

appearing for the Chief Minister                makes a statement at Bar that

respondent no. 3 shall not take any policy decision till the Floor

Test is conducted.Six weeks' time is granted to                 the learned counsel for the

respondents to file counter affidavit.10Rejoinder      affidavit,   if    any,   be    filed       within   four   weeks
thereafter.The matter shall be listed for directions after ten weeks.I.A. No. 75881 of 2018The petitioners have moved this application in which prayer is

made   to    the   effect   that   respondent    no.     3    be    restrained     from

nominating     and/or   recommending     any    member       of    the   Anglo    Indian

Community underArticle 333of the Constitution pending the floor

test of respondent no.3.Mr.   Tushar   Mehta,   learned    ASG   who    appears       for   the    State

Government makes a statement at Bar that there is no such move to

nominate any such member till the Floor Test is cleared.The interlocutory application is disposed of accordingly.(ASHWANI THAKUR)                                             (MALA KUMARI SHARMA)
COURT MASTER (SH)                                                COURT MASTER