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Yeddyurappa to take oath as CM, SC refuses to stay Governor’s decision

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8 years ago

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Yeddyurappa to take oath as CM, SC refuses to stay Governor’s decision

As expected, BJP’s Karnataka chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa will take oath at 9 am on Thursday, May 17, just as he had claimed.

This was decided after a dramatic hearing at Supreme Court in the early hours of Thursday when the Congress challenged Karnataka Governor’s decision to invite BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa to take oath as chief minister later that day –at 9 am on Thursday, May 17.

The apex court, while refusing to stay the Governor’s order for Yeddyurappa’s swearing in, said the hearing of the case would continue and fixed the next hearing for 10.30 a.m. on Friday, May 18. It also asked for the list of MLAs supporting Yeddyurappa to be produced that day.

After Yeddyurappa’s claim that he would take oath as chief minister on May 17 was confirmed by Karnataka Governor VajubhaiVala’sinvitation to him to take oath as CM at 9 am that day, with only the night remaining for making their move, the Congress and JD(S)moved the Supreme Court.

A three-judge benchcomprising ofJustice AK Sikri, Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde, Justice Ashok Bhushan heard the case. Notably, the bench did not include the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra or any of the next senior four judges who had gone public with their complaint against him with complaints that included allocation of cases.

Former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the BJP, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the Centre while Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued for the Congress.

Rohatgi said the Governor could not be stopped from taking a decision, that the court could not stop him from having a government sworn in.

Singhvi enumerating numbers said the Congress and JD(S) had informed the Governor on May 15 about their alliance. The BJP does not have a majority.

As Attorney General KK Venugopal also arrived for the hearing, Singhvi said as per the recommendations of the Sarkaria Commission …

The court interjected to say “…the single largest party is invited…”

Singhvi said, “No… the alliance hving a majority is invited.”

“The Supreme Court approved this decision in the case of Goa,” he said.

He pointed out that whereas in the case of Goa, Jharkhand and Jagdambika Pal, the SC brought down the 7-day time for floor test to prove majority to 48 hours, the Karnataka Governor has given a time of 15 days.

Singhvi said while BJP’s chief minister-designate had asked for seven days, the Governor has given him 15 days.

Giving so much time is allowing chance for the Constitutional sin of horsetrading.

Justice AK Sikri said the single largest party has been invited to form government and it claims it would prove its majority, and you are arguing that they do not have anyone else’s support.

Singhvi said the BJP has 104 MLAs and unless eight MLAs from Congress break away to back BJP, they cannot get a majority.

The court said: “But the defection of MLAs is against the law.”

Singhvi: “That is exactly what I’m saying.”

Justice SA Bobde said that if the court stayed the Governor’s order, no government would be formed. Under Article 361, the Governor has certain special powers, said Justice Bobde.

Singhvi, cited the example of Meghalaya, Manipur and Goa, where Congress was the largest party short of majority and the first chance to form a government was given to a post-poll alliance, in Delhi AamAadmi Party was given a chance to form government with Congress support when BJP was biggest single party, and in Jharkhand JMM-Congress got a chance even when BJP had more seats.

Justice Sikri said the Governor had used his discretion and how could the court interfere with this power.

Singhvi countered, saying that the decision to hold swearing in by tomorrow morning (actually just 5-6 hours later) was extremely problematic and the SC could not be a mute spectator to it.

He said the plea for staying the swearing in was not to check the Governor but to check Yeddyurappa. The Governor, he argued, had not given any reasons for his decision (to invite the BJP leader to take oath despite lacking majority).

Singhvi also argued that the Governor’s decision was open to judicial review.

As he concluded his arguments, Attorney General KK Venugopal, arguing on behalf of the Centre, said it wasn’t a question of legality nor was it known what facts the Governor took into consideration – that the entire case was based on conjectures.

Singhvi said the court should postpone the oath taking for two days and hear the case in detail.

Mukul Rohatgi chimed in to argue that the court should not have heard the case at all, that too so late at night, that such hearing was held only for Yakub Memon(the terrorist, Mumbai bomb blast accused) case.

NDTV reported that Justice Sikri said the court had not seen any letter from BJP to the Governor staking its claim so how could it take a position on BJP’s claim.

A curious argument from the AG was that if a person elected as MLA on one party’s ticket switched sides to another before taking oath, it could not be treated as defection.

Rohatgi argued that if the court deemed it necessary, Yeddyurappa could be removed from chief ministership, but how could the court stay Governor’s decision? He said the only question left was how many days should be allowed for the floor test. “Is this such an important/urgent question that has to be decided at four in the morning?” Rohatgi asked.

The SC bench finally decided not to interfere with the Governor’s decision to hold Yeddyurappa’s swearing-in ceremony, saying a final decision about whether one retains the post or not would come when the case was decided and there could be no interim order in this regard.

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BJP releases first list of 47 candidates for Kerala assembly polls

The BJP has released its first list of 47 candidates for the Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April 9, including three former Union ministers.

Published

12 hours ago

on

March 16, 2026

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BJP releases list of candidates

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday released its first list of 47 candidates for the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections scheduled for April 9.

Voting will take place for all 140 seats in the state assembly, with counting of votes scheduled for May 4. A party or coalition needs at least 70 seats to secure a majority in the House.

Among the candidates announced in the first list are three former Union ministers — Rajeev Chandrasekhar, V. Muraleedharan and George Kurian.

Key candidates announced

Kerala BJP chief and former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has been fielded from the Nemom assembly constituency. In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, Chandrasekhar lost the Thiruvananthapuram seat to three-time MP Shashi Tharoor, but he led in the Nemom assembly segment during that contest. The party believes this performance strengthens its prospects in the constituency.

Nemom has held political significance for the BJP since 2016, when senior leader O. Rajagopal won the seat and became the party’s first-ever MLA in the 140-member Kerala Legislative Assembly. The victory marked the BJP’s initial breakthrough in the state assembly.

However, the seat returned to the Left camp in the 2021 Assembly election when V. Sivankutty defeated BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan.

Former Union minister V. Muraleedharan will contest from the Kazhakoottam constituency, while George Kurian has been nominated from Kanjirappally.

Other candidates in the list

According to the list released by the party, several other candidates have also been announced for key constituencies. P. C. George will contest from Poonjar, R. Sreelekha from Vattiyoorkavu and Padmaja Venugopal from Thrissur.

The BJP has also nominated Sobha Surendran from Palakkad, Navya Haridas from Kozhikode North and Kavitha K. S. from Sulthanbathery, a reserved constituency.

Raji Prasad will contest from the Kunnathur seat reserved for Scheduled Castes, while R. Rashmi has been fielded from Kottarakkara.

Political backdrop in Kerala

Kerala’s electoral politics has traditionally alternated between the Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF). However, the BJP has been attempting to expand its presence in the state.

The alternating trend was interrupted in the 2021 Assembly election when the electorate returned the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government to power for a second consecutive term.

The BJP believes recent electoral performances and local body successes have strengthened its position as it prepares to contest the upcoming assembly polls.

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Arvind Kejriwal moves Supreme Court against Delhi High Court order in excise policy case

Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order related to proceedings in the excise policy case and alleging violation of his fundamental rights.

Published

22 hours ago

on

March 16, 2026

By

Arvind Kejriwal

Aam Aadmi Party chief and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has approached the Supreme Court of India challenging certain proceedings in the Delhi excise policy case and alleging a violation of his fundamental rights.

In a petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, Kejriwal has questioned a decision of the Delhi High Court that put a freeze on remarks related to the investigation conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The petition also challenges an order of the High Court Chief Justice rejecting Kejriwal’s request to transfer the case to another bench.

Plea seeks change of bench

Earlier, on March 11, Kejriwal and several others submitted a representation to Delhi High Court Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya seeking reassignment of the case to what they described as an “impartial” judge.

In the representation, Kejriwal stated that he had a “grave, bona fide and reasonable apprehension” that the matter may not receive an impartial hearing before the current bench.

However, the Chief Justice declined the request and said the petition had been assigned as per the existing roster.

According to the communication sent by the High Court’s Registrar General on March 13 to eight individuals including Kejriwal, the Chief Justice noted that any decision on recusal must be taken by the judge hearing the matter and that there was no reason to transfer the petition administratively.

Order on trial court proceedings also challenged

Kejriwal has also challenged a March 9 order passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma of the Delhi High Court.

In that order, Justice Sharma had stayed a trial court direction that called for an investigation into a CBI officer who handled the excise policy case. The High Court had also asked the trial court to defer proceedings connected to the anti-money laundering aspect of the case.

Justice Sharma had further rejected certain observations made by the trial court while discharging Kejriwal and 22 others, stating that some of those remarks were erroneous.

Hearing expected on CBI plea

Meanwhile, Justice Sharma is scheduled to hear a petition filed by the CBI challenging the discharge of Kejriwal, former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and others in the excise policy case.

The matter remains under judicial consideration as the legal challenge now moves to the Supreme Court.

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BJP and TMC workers clash in Kolkata ahead of PM rally

Supporters of BJP and TMC clashed in central Kolkata near Girish Park shortly before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Brigade Parade Ground.

Published

3 days ago

on

March 14, 2026

By

BJP TMC workers clash

Supporters of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Trinamool Congress clashed in central Kolkata on Saturday morning ahead of a rally scheduled to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.

The confrontation took place near Girish Park, roughly five kilometres from the Brigade Parade Ground where the prime minister is expected to address supporters.

Eyewitnesses reported that members from both political groups raised slogans and threw stones at each other during the confrontation. The clash created tension in the area as supporters were moving towards the rally venue.

According to BJP supporters, stones were allegedly thrown at them without provocation while they were heading towards the rally. One party activist told a Bengali news channel that the group was targeted suddenly and also faced verbal abuse.

However, local TMC workers rejected the allegations. They claimed that BJP supporters initiated the confrontation by hurling abuses and throwing stones first.

TMC supporters also alleged that stones were thrown towards the residence of local party leaders during the incident.

Police personnel were quickly deployed to the spot to control the situation and prevent further escalation. A large contingent of security forces intervened to restore order in the area.

The clash occurred about half an hour before the prime minister’s scheduled address at the Brigade Parade Ground. The rally marks the conclusion of the BJP’s statewide ‘Parivartan Yatra’ ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal.

During his visit, the prime minister is also expected to unveil and lay foundation stones for development projects valued at more than Rs 18,000 crore in the state.

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