The Meghalaya High Court has ruled that there was nothing unconstitutional or illegal in the functioning of Speaker Thomas A Sangma, who disallowed a special motion moved by Shillong North MLA Adelbert Nongrum.
A division bench of Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh while dismissing a writ appeal of Nongrum said that under Article 212 of the Constitution, the court cannot interfere in the Speaker’s decision.
“If the proceedings are unconstitutional or illegal or wholly beyond the competence of the legislature, then the legislature steps out of the protection of Article 212 and the High Court, in the exercise of its writ jurisdiction, has the power to adjudge null and void the proceedings as well as all the illegal procedures followed to implement it,” the division bench said.
The court said that if a valid motion was not being tabled by the Speaker then that becomes unconstitutional and it would have the jurisdiction and direct him to place the Motion before the House.
“In this case, the Motion is premature as the audit report under the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly has to be placed before the Committee of Public Accounts, for its examination under Rule 241 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly. It is empowered to do so under Article 151(2) of the Constitution which says that the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India relating to the accounts of the State shall be submitted to the Governor who shall cause them to be laid before the legislature of the State. It is to be read with Article 208 of the Constitution vesting power in the legislature to make rules for regulating its procedure and conduct of its business,” the court added.
The appeal was filed before the division bench after a single bench of Justice Hamarsan Singh Thangkhiew in a judgment passed on April 2024, said that the decision of the Speaker in not allowing the Special Motion, cannot be held to be illegal or unconstitutional, notwithstanding the fact that the subject matter involves a matter of grave public importance.
Nongrum had moved the court under Article 226 of the Constitution, challenging the action of the Speaker, in not allowing the petitioner to move a Special Motion under Rule 130A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, to raise discussion in the House during the Budget Session 2024, on the CAG Report on the Social and Economic Sectors for the year ending 31.03.2022, for the State of Meghalaya.
The Special Motion was to discuss an expenditure of Rs.156.14 crore made by the government company, Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) in awarding contracts under the centrally-sponsored Saubhagya scheme.
