M A I N   N E W S

Notice to Centre on ‘profit’ law
Our Legal Correspondent

New Delhi, August 23
The controversy over the new office-of-profit law that has been haunting the UPA Government from the very beginning refused to be resolved as the Supreme Court today took cognizance of a writ petition challenging the constitutional validity of the legislation and issued notice to the Centre.

A Bench comprising Mr Justice K.G Balakrishnan, Mr Justice P.P Naolekar and Mr Justice D.K Jain while accepting a petition filed by Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi for hearing, directed the Union Law Ministry to submit its reply to the issues raised in the public interest litigation (PIL), which sought the quashing of the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Act, 2006.

The notice was issued after senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Trivedi, made a special mention of the petition for urgent hearing.

Though he sought a stay on the Act notified on August 18, yet did not press for it and said the issuance of notice would ensure that the cases pending before the Election Commission (EC) against various politicians would not automatically go under the effect of the amended law.

“They (Government) by bringing about changes in the law have given protection to various MPs of the present House from retrospective date and it will create a problem for the EC in taking up the cases of those referred to it by the President if the Act is struck down by the court,” Salve said adding “we can go and tell the EC that the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of the matter.”

Trivedi in his petition has challenged the validity of the Act on the ground that it was arbitrary and discriminatory, passed in undue haste for the second time by ignoring President’s message to Parliament and aimed at protecting some MPs who had violated the office-of-profit provisions prior to the amended legislation was passed and notified.

He has annexed with the petition the complete list of 45 offices apart from that of the National Advisory Council earlier held by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and now given protection against attracting the disqualification for holding the office-of-profit under Article 102 of the Constitution.

After President A P J Abdul Kalam refused to give assent to the Act passed in May and only signed it on its fresh passage by Parliament during the current session, the Supreme Court’s notice issued today is being seen as another obstacle in the way of UPA Government’s efforts to get rid of the issue that has been haunting it for quite some time.

The legal experts say that with the issuance of the notice the government would at least be constrained from moving the EC for ending the proceedings in cases pending against it.