The supreme court has issued notices to Tamil Nadu chief minister Jayalalitha,Union of India and the Attorney General on a bunch of petitions challenging herappointment despite being disqualified to contest elections.
A division bench comprising Justice S.S.M. Quadri and Justice Doraiswamy Rajureferred the matter to a three-judge bench as it involved a question of law anddirected the Supreme Court registry to place the matter before the chief justiceof India for constitution of an appropriate bench.
However, the bench dismissed the petition challenging the constitutionalvalidity of article 164 (4) which conferred discretion on the governor to invitea person to form the government.
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The public interest litigations (PILs), filed by advocates B.R. Kapur and ManoharLal Sharma, have raised among other things the question whether a person wasentitled to become chief minister after being disqualified to become alegislator on account of conviction and sentence for a term of over two years.
The petition filed by Sharma said "inviting Jayalalitha to form thegovernment had raised two vital questions - whether any convicted person has aright to hold any post of profit in the place of general importance as well asthe employment of government and whether a disqualifed person becoming primeminister or chief minister is constitutional".
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As per section 389(1) of CRPC, suspension of sentence "does notexpressly speak of suspension of conviction," he said.
Arguing for petitioner, Pratap Singh Chautala, brother of Haryana chiefminister Om Prakash Chautala, senior advocate Anil Dewan submitted that theappointment of Jayalalitha, whose conviction had not been stayed by the Madras HighCourt, has opened a new chapter in the Indian legal as well as politicalhistory.
Terming the governor's decision as "wholly unconstitutional, arbitraryand subrsive of rule of law forming the basic structure of constitution", Dewansaid it would encourage corruption and empower a "convicted person tooccupy chief minister's office".
"The precedent set by the decision of the governor leads to thefollowing consequences - a convicted murderer or a dacoit can be appointed notonly as a minister but also a chief minister or even a prime minister of India,"he said.
The other petitioners who challenged the appointment of Jayalalitha as chiefminister were B.L. Wadhera, M.L. Sharma and B.R. Kapoor.
Justice Raju had earlier questioned the locus standi of the petitioners toraise the issue before the apex court saying "leave madras alone. Thelawyers who have filed similar petitions before the Madras High Court couldhandle the issue."
However, Dewan while convincing the bench on the locus standi of thepetitioners to file public interest litigations before the court, said thedecision of the governor was "far from upholding the rule of law" and"legitimised the rule of the outlaw".
Meanwhile, Jayalalitha announced that she will meet president K.R. Narayananand prime minister Vajpayee tomorrow.on her first visit to the capital afterassuming office,
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"It is a courtesy call I am making on president, prime minister andcongress president Sonia Gandhi," she told reporters soon after herarrival.
Asked when would her government file a case against her predecessor Karunanidhibased on Sarkaria commission recommendations on Veeranam scandal, she said shedid not want to comment on it before meeting the prime minister.
Jayalalitha had stated in the state assembly last week that the commissionhad indicted Karunanidhi in the scandal. The Veeranam project was aimed atbringing drinking water to Chennai from Veeranam lake in Cuddalore district.
She had further told the state assembly that it was a specific case and hencethe government would move the court on the issue.
