High Court upheld Speaker’s decision to disallow special motion on Saubhagya scheme

Shillong, Feb 27: The Meghalaya High Court on Thursday upheld the ruling of the Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma to disallow a special motion moved by VPP legislator from North Shillong Adelbert Nongrum on February 15, 2024 in regards to a CAG report on Saubhagya scheme.

In its judgment, the bench comprising Chief Justice IP Mukerji and Justice W Diengdoh said, “…there is nothing unconstitutional or illegal in the functioning of the Speaker which would invite interference by the Court.”

It stated that 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 bench added.

According to the judgment, Article 212 comes in the way of the Court adjudging the merits of the procedure followed by it.

“Once the auditor’s report is examined by the Public Accounts Committee , it would certainly give a fresh cause of action to the appellant to present a new special motion, if he is so advised. With the above observations, we affirm the impugned judgment and order and dispose of the appeal accordingly,” it stated further.

The special motion was a part of the CAG report on the social and economic sectors for the year ending 31 st March, 2022.

It deprecated an expenditure of Rs.156.14 crore made by the government company, Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) in awarding contracts under the Saubhagya scheme. The scheme was conceived by the Central government but its implementation was with the State government through the project implementing agency, Saubhagya.

The fund was Central. The State government, in turn, implemented the scheme through MePDCL a body corporate controlled by it.

By a terse letter dated February 19, 2024, the Commissioner and Secretary of the Assembly informed the appellant that the Special Motion had been “disallowed” by the Speaker as it was under consideration by the Public Accounts Committee.

The bench however said this is for the reason that the Legislature, under the doctrine of separation of powers, is given the autonomy to conduct its own proceedings.

“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,” it said.

“Now, if the case here was that a valid motion was not being tabled by the Speaker, then in that case the Speaker was acting unconstitutionally and dehors the jurisdiction and power conferred on him . The Court would have jurisdiction to declare the act as unconstitutional and direct him to place the Motion before the House,” it stated.

Read: ‘Holding ministerial posts is meangliness’: Tipra Motha chief Pradyut Debbarma

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