By IANS
New Delhi : The Supreme Court Wednesday dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the appointment of Mayawati as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh without her resigning from the Rajya Sabha, and held there is no bar on an MP being appointed as chief minister.
A vacation bench of Justices Arijit Pasayat and P.P. Naolekar held that the requirement mandated by Article 164 (4) of the constitution, on a minister being elected to the legislature within six months of such appointment, applied only to a non-member but not to an MP.
The petitioner, Ashok Pandey, had challenged the appointment of Mayawati and her cabinet colleague S.C. Mishra, both sitting MPs of Rajya Sabha, terming it unconstitutional, as they had not resigned from the upper house of parliament.
The bench said: "Article 164 (4) is actually in the nature of a disqualification or restriction for a non-member, who has been appointed as chief minister or minister, as the case may be, to continue in office without getting himself elected within a period of six months."
The apex court said that even the Constituent Assembly in 1949 did approve of an amendment brought by a member, Mohammed Tahir, who wanted a constitutional provision to be incorporated for ensuring that only a member of the legislative assembly/council was made a minister.
It recalled that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar had opposed the amendment on the reasoning that such a provision would deprive competent persons from becoming a minister, even though such a person might have been defeated in an election.
The bench noted that under the Prohibition of Simultaneous Membership Rules, 1950, there was already a constitutional provision for an MP to resign his/her seat within 14 days of being elected to a state legislative assembly or vice versa.
"This petition is sans merit and deserves to be dismissed which we direct," the bench said while rejecting the petition.
The petitioner had also challenged the continuation of all state ministers as the governor had appointed them on the advice of a disqualified and unconstitutionally appointed chief minister.
Pandey also wanted that all decisions taken by her government be declared null and void.
The petitioner said: "The constitution permits a non-legislator to become the prime minister, chief minister or minister in case he or she undertakes to contest the election and become a legislator within a period of six months.
"But since both Mayawati and Mishra are already MPs of Rajya Sabha, they were not entitled to claim their appointment under the non-legislator class unless they resign their membership of parliament and become a non-legislator."
He cited earlier instances when an MP had been appointed chief minister and said politicians were continuing unconstitutional acts.
According to the petition, such appointments would also offend the office of profit law since an MP could not get pay and allowances both as a member of parliament and a minister in a state.