Using Rule 6 order II of the Supreme Court Rules, 2013, the Chief Justice of India, Ranjan Gogoi has constituted division benches to preside over miscellaneous matters and regular hearing matters during the summer vacation of the Supreme Court, beginning on May 13 and ending June 30. While this is yearly precedence, what is unprecedented this time round is that CJI Gogoi has nominated himself to preside over the bench along with Justice M.R. Shah. In a rare occurrence, CJI Gogoi and justice Shah will preside over the vacation bench for a period of 5 days from 25th May to 30th May.
This move is in light of the Lok Sabha elections and the CJI will deal with matters pertaining to the election results immediately after the results are announced on the 23rd of this month. It is being envisaged that a political party or a petitioner may move the Supreme Court challenge, either the poll results or President Ram Nath Kovind’s decision to invite a political party or pre-poll alliance to form the next government. In such a case, CJI Gogoi will deal with the matter on an urgent basis.
Congress sources say there is a “strong possibility” that a petition “on the lines of the one filed following the Karnataka assembly polls” may be moved in the top court immediately after the declaration of the final results.
Last year, during the Karnataka assembly polls, with 104 seats, BJP had failed to attain the majority mark in the 222 Vidhan Sabha seats in the state. Thereupon, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) had announced their post-poll alliance and had moved the Supreme Court against the Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala’s decision to invite BJP’s B.S. Yeddyurappa to form a government in the state. The court had given 48 hours to conduct a floor test in the assembly, during which Yeddyurappa was unable to achieve the majority support in the Vidhan Sabha and had to resign.
Though petitions disputing the invitation to form a government have been limited to the state level till now, it is being contemplated that these Lok Sabha polls might witness disputes regarding the election results. The parties in the opposition to the current government are aiming at one common goal in the elections- removal of the NDA government. In this regard, 21 opposition parties comprising of the Congress-led UPA coalition as well as regional parties like Trinamool Congress, Telugu Desam Party and the Left parties, among others, are planning to meet the honorable President, after the election is over, in a bid to make an appeal to not call the single largest party to form the government in case of a split verdict. The opposition parties plan to give a signed letter to the President, claiming support for an alternative way of forming the government, in which they are willing to come together to support a non-NDA candidate for the Prime Minister’s chair. This is being contemplated as it is being widely speculated that BJP will emerge as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and thus it is expected that President Kovind will invite the NDA, under Narendra Modi, to form the next government. Sources in the Congress told Outlook that the President is unlikely to yield to the planned request of the Opposition.
Therefore, if the action on government formation is challenged in the Supreme Court, it would be listed before the vacation bench. The move to challenge the government at the centre level itself would be an unprecedented and novel move. It is only fitting that the apex in the hierarchy, CJI Gogoi, deals with the matter.