long after the NDA Government at the Centre replaced two Governors appointed during the UPA regime, the Supreme Court on Wednesday found it hard to believe that the decision of the Government asking them to quit was conveyed by a Private Secretary to the Union Home Secretary in one case and by the Union Home Secretary in the other instance.
The Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur set out to examine the possibility of a protocol to be put in place in this regard after the two former Governors argued that the absence of any procedure on who conveys the Governor to quit was forcing Governments to casually deal with persons holding constitutional posts.
The court was dealing with a petition filed by former UP Governor Aziz Qureshi and former l-G of Puducherry Virendra Kataria, who was sacked by the Centre soon after the NDA Government took charge in May 2014.
Noting a fact mentioned in the petition filed by Kataria where he was asked to go by the PS to then Home Secretary Anil Goswami, the Bench also comprising Justices FM Ibrahim Kalifulla, AK Sikri, SA Bobde, and R Banumathi wondered how standards had fallen that Governors were being asked to go by a Private Secretary. Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, who appeared for the two petitioners, took serious objection to such treatment meted out to constitutional post holders. He submitted that any assault to the dignity and honour of Governors will amount to assault on constitutional dignity.
“It is a serious matter,” the Bench said, adding, “We may have to lay down a format in which communications with such high constitutional dignitaries takes place.” While the petition filed by Aziz was pending since last year, the Bench decided to issue notice on Kataria’s petition seeking response of Centre in four weeks.
Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the Centre and argued that the petitions were infructuous as the two petitioners are no longer serving as Governors. But the Bench replied that the constitutional questions of law raised in the petition will be dealt with by the court.