Sakina Tashrifwala
Published on: October 21, 2022 at 23:15 IST
The Allahabad High Court today dismissed a writ petition filed by a Samajwadi Party politician (Lal Bihari Yadav) challenging the UP government’s announcement derecognizing him as the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council.
After answers were filed on behalf of the Chairman and Chief Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, the bench comprising Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi and Justice Om Prakash Shukla reserved the orders in the plea on September 9.
The detailed order has yet to be made public.
About the Case
Petitioner/Samajwadi Party leader Lal Bihari Yadav was acknowledged as the leader of the opposition by a notification dated May 27, 2022, in the UP Legislative Council, which has a total membership of 100 members.
Now, in July 2022, when the Samajwadi Party’s membership in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council was reduced from 11 to 9, the UP government issued a notification derecognizing him as the leader of the opposition.
According to the notification, the decision was made because the Party’s representation in the council fell short of 10 – the bare minimum for the main opposition party to be appointed.
Yadav filed a petition in the High Court through Advocates Krishna Kanhaiya Pal and Pooja Pal, arguing that the action of the Principal Secretary, UP Legislative Council was in violation of Rule 234 of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council’s Procedure and Conduct of Business Rules 1956, as the rules do not provide for de-recognizing the leader of the opposition in the Legislative Council.
During the hearing, the Court sought the response of the Chairman and Chief Secretary of the UP Legislative Council on the question of whether the law requires the recognition of the leader of the opposition when the strength of the largest opposition party in the legislative council falls below the quorum of 10 as per Rule 234 of the Procedure & Practice Rules, 1956.