New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Friday said the Governor was interfering in the conduct of the trust vote and dictating terms to the Assembly. He also moved the Supreme Court contending that Governor Vajubhai Vala cannot dictate Speaker K R Ramesh to conduct the proceedings of the Assembly which is debating the confidence motion moved by him. Kumaraswamy questioned the deadlines set by the Governor one after another to complete the trust vote.

In his petition, he said "the debates on the motion are currently ongoing and the House is in session. The Speaker has opined that the division will take place only at the end of the debate. In these circumstances, the Governor cannot dictate to the House the manner in which the debate of the confidence motion has to be taken up."

SC In 2016 Verdict In Arunachal Case

Amid the crisis, a 2016 Supreme Court verdict assumes significance in which it had held that it is not within the governor's domain to interfere with the functions of the Speaker as he is "neither a guide, nor a mentor" to the latter.

In 2016, the apex court had held as unconstitutional the decision of Arunachal Pradesh governor J P Rajkhowa to advance the floor test.
Karnataka Governor Vajubhai Vala set two deadlines for the H D Kumaraswamy government to prove majority on the floor of the assembly by Friday.

A five-judge Constitution bench headed by the then CJI J S Khehar had restored the dismissed Congress government led by Nabam Tuki in Arunachal Pradesh and had dealt in details the power of the governor under the Constitution.

"It is not within his domain to interfere with the functions of the Speaker, as the Governor is neither a guide, nor a mentor to the Speaker and has no role whatsoever in the removal of Speaker or Deputy Speaker...Both the Governor and the Speaker have independent constitutional responsibilities," the bench had said.

It had held that the governor cannot be an "overriding authority" over the people's representatives and there can be no interference at his behest so long as the democratic process in the assembly functioned through a majority government.

"It is not within the realm of the governor to embroil himself in any political thicket. The governor must remain aloof from any disagreement, discord, disharmony, discontent or dissension, within individual political parties.

"The activities within a political party, confirming turbulence, or unrest within its ranks, are beyond the concern of the governor. The governor must keep clear of any political horse-trading, and even unsavoury political manipulations, irrespective of the degree of their ethical repulsiveness," it had said.

(agency inputs)