Girish Dattatraya MahajanPhoto : ANIMumbai: Maharashtra BJP MLA Girish Dattatraya Mahajan on Sunday filed an appeal against an order of Bombay High Court that dismissed his public interest litigation which challenged amendments to the rules of the state Assembly speaker’s election. Mahajan’s petition termed the amendment “arbitrary, unconstitutional” as “process of election of Speaker has been reduced to selection” and hence should be set aside. The plea filed through SC advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh states that the procedure of secret ballot has been replaced with a voice vote or show of hand instead of a secret ballot and power to notify the date of the election has been transferred from the Governor to the Chief Minister, among other changes. The plea claims that this “will lead to the death of democracy” and urged that the amendments be declared “illegal, unconstitutional.” “Election of the Speaker in a State Assembly directly impacts the democracy and administration in such state as the Speaker of the Assembly have several powers and duty for smooth running of such Assembly, however, if the Speaker himself is elected by undemocratic means then the free and fair functioning of the State Assembly can easily be hampered by the ruling party”, said the petition filed by the BJP MLA. The petition was settled by SC advocate Siddharth Dharmadhikari and filed by SC Advocate on record Abhikalp Pratap Singh. When the issue became a controversial setting of a war between the ruling party and opposition BJP, state’s ruling government Maha Vikas Aghadi had said that the amendments were proposed by the rules committee in accordance with similar rules existing in the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and legislative assemblies of a few other states.The post of the Assembly speaker fell vacant in February last year after Nana Patole resigned from the post and became the state Congress president. QUESTIONS RAISED 1. The petition raised the substantial question of laws. 2. Whether the Maharashtra Assembly Rules, 1960 are procedure established by law as held by this Hon’ble Court in a plethora of cases. 3. Whether the Governor of state has discretionary powers in so far as fixing the date for the election of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of State Legislative Assembly is concerned?4. Whether the Chief Minister of a state can exercise any power under the Constitution of India without aid and advice of the Council of Ministers?5. Whether the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly can be selected by the Chief Minister of state?KEY GROUNDS: PLEA CALLED AMENDMENTS ARBITRARY1. Because the election of the speaker in a state Assembly directly impacts the democracy and administration in such state as the Speaker of the Assembly have several powers and duty for smooth running of such Assembly, however, if the Speaker himself is elected by undemocratic means then the free and fair functioning of the State Assembly can easily be hampered by the ruling party.2. Because the selection of the deputy speaker with the method enumerated in the Impugned Notification would lead to favoritism and biasness in the House. Because the Deputy Speaker of the House of Legislative Assembly can be ‘selected’ instead of being elected.3. Because the impugned order is unconstitutional and undemocratic for adopting a different procedure for appointment of the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Assembly by changing the Rules, which was in existence from 1960 till date in the State of Maharashtra.4. Because the Impugned Notification has arbitrarily and undemocratically changed the procedure of the election of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, the procedure is now a procedure of selection rather than election.