Delhi HC refuses urgent hearing in plea seeking appointment of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha

The Delhi High Court today refused to grant an urgent hearing in a public interest litigation petition seeking the appointment of Leader of Opposition (LoP) for the 17th Lok Sabha..The matter was listed for hearing before a Vacation Bench of Justices Jyoti Singh and Manoj Kumar Ohri..Remarking that there was no urgency in the matter, the Court listed the matter for hearing before a regular Bench on July 8..The petition has been preferred by advocates Manmohan Singh and Shishmita Kumari to enforce the statutory rights under the Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 with respect to the post of Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha..The petition is premised on the fact that although the new Lok Sabha has come into existence, the speaker has “refused to recognise a leader of the opposition even though the Congress was the largest party in the opposition.”.“the new Lok Sabha, with 52 members, the Congress is the largest party in the opposition and is, therefore, the rightful claimant to this post under the law. There is no ambiguity about it as the law is absolutely clear on this point.”.It is stated that the procedure for recognising the Leader of Opposition is well laid down under the Salaries and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977..“On a request being made by the numerically largest party in the opposition that its designated leader be recognised as the leader of the opposition, the speaker, after the request is examined by her or his secretariat, accords recognition to that person.”.The petitioner has thus argued that the notion that Congress would not get the post since its strength in the Lok Sabha is less than 10 percent of the total number of MPs in the house is devoid of any merit..Stating that recognizing the Leader of Opposition is not a political or arithmetical decision but a statutory decision, the petition has claimed that the speaker has to merely ascertain whether the party claiming the post is the largest party in the opposition..“There is no room for any ambiguity or discretionary powers vested with the respondent in appointment of the LoP… since the speaker is performing a statutory duty in recognising the leader of the opposition, she or he cannot exercise any discretion in the matter. No power of discretion is vested in the speaker in the matter of recognising the leader of the opposition.”, it is stated..Stressing on the importance of the post, the petition states that the role is not only to oppose and criticise the government but also to take the responsibility of forming an alternate government in the event of the fall of the existing one..“Parliamentary form of Democracy followed by Republic of India gives the right to the citizens to vote in the favor of the best suitable candidate thereby electing them to the House of Lok Sabha. These elected majority members then choose their leader who is invited by the Hon’ble President to form the Government for the Republic of India. Similarly, the opposition members also choose their leader who is elected as Leader of Opposition, who is vested with great responsibilities of Watchdog and keeping the Majority Parliamentary party in order and keep a check on their work.“.Thus claiming that the leader of the largest opposition party on the floor of the House is entitled to the position of the Leader of Opposition under the 1977 Act, the petitioners seek a direction to the Speaker to issue an order to enforce the same..The petition also seeks a direction to the Speaker to frame a policy for the appointment of LoP..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, Click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.