The double bench of Chief Justice Dr. Ravi Ranjan and Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad of Jharkhand High Court on Thursday put a stay on the notice issued by Speaker of Jharkhand Assembly Rabindra Nath Mahto to the BJP leader and senior MLA Babulal Marandi under provisions of anti-defection law.
The bench ordered stay on the basis of a petition filed by Marandi, in which he had questioned the jurisdiction of the Speaker to issue him the notice suo-moto regarding split and merger of his party; the JVM, in the BJP.
While the bench will hear the case on January 13 this has come as a huge relief for Marandi.
However, the Speaker conducted the court on Thursday as per schedule. MLAs Bandhu Tirkey and Pradeep Kumar Yadav were represented by their lawyers, who told the court of Speaker that Tirkey and Yadav should be treated as members of the Congress legislative party as they represented the JVM and followed due procedure for the merger of the JVM in the Congress. Marandi did not turn up before the speaker's court. Later on, the Speaker adjourned hearing sine die.
Assembly sources said that since only Marandi had approached the High Court not Tirkey and Yadav hence the speaker decided to hear submissions of Tirkey and Yadav.
In February Marandi merged his party; the JVM, into the BJP, the party he had quit about 14 years ago. He had formed the JVM after quitting the BJP and contested subsequent Assembly and Parliamentary elections.
In the last Assembly election Marandi along with Pradeep Yadav and Bandhu Tirkey were elected as MLA from the JVM fold. Both Yadav and Tirkey were opposed to merger of the JVM in the BJP as they wanted to go with the Congress. Marandi expelled them from the party one by one thus he remained the lone MLA of the party.
Later on, Yadav and Tirkey claimed they represent the original JVM and announced merger of the JVM in the Congress. But the ECI rejected their claim for merger in the Congress and declared them as independent. In the meantime, the BJP declared Marandi as Leader of Opposition. But theA speaker declined to recognize him as leader of opposition while raising question over legality of merger of the JVM in the BJP.
The office of the Speaker later on sent them notices. But the Speaker found their reply unsatisfactory and decided to set-up the court for hearing.