Majority decides the fate of legislature party leader: Legal experts

Srinagar, July 13: Top legal experts of Jammu and Kashmir have said that majority decides the fate of legislature party leader of any party and voting for the other party by any sitting legislator after quitting the parent party amounts to disqualification from membership of either of the two houses of state legislature.

Talking to Kashmir News Service, top constitutional expert and leading Advocate of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Zaffar Ahmad Shah said: “The support of the majority of the members decides the fate of the leader of the legislature of any party and any MLA does not come under the present anti-defection law unless and until he or she does not switch to any other party and votes against his or her parent party on which he or she has fought the election.”

Shah added: “The election of Mehbooba Mufti as PDP legislature party leader can’t be contested or declared null and void till the time she enjoys the support of majority of the MLAs of her party.”

Shah hinted that even the support of fifteen MLAs is sufficient enough for Mehbooba Mufti to retain her position as leader of PDP legislature party.

Another top constitutional expert and leading lawyer of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Zaffar Ahmad Qureshi said: “No MLA can come under anti-defection law after quitting the parent party on which he or she has fought the election but once the MLA joins to any other party or votes for any party other than his parent party he or she is liable for disqualification under the present anti-defection law.”

Keeping in view the constitutional positions stated by the top constitutional experts of the state on the present anti-defection law, it has become almost impossible for the PDP rebels to quit the party for the purposes of formation of any government till the dissolution of the assembly. (KNS)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)