The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the appointment of DK Shivakumar as Chief Minister of Karnataka, holding that the petition was based on a clear misinterpretation of the Constitution.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice KS Hemalekha on Tuesday also imposed costs of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner for filing a “frivolous” petition, which had unnecessarily consumed valuable judicial time. The Court observed that the plea appeared to have been instituted solely to seek publicity and had resulted in an unjustified burden on the Court’s docket.
The Bench passed the order on a petition filed by Hubballi resident Mangalappa, who questioned the validity of Shivakumar’s swearing-in along with 13 ministers. The petitioner contended that the formation of the Council of Ministers violated Article 164(1A) of the Constitution.
Referring to the strength of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, which comprised 224 members, he argued that the Council of Ministers ought to consist of not less than 24 members and not more than 33 members. On this basis, he sought to challenge the constitutional validity of the Chief Minister’s appointment and the composition of the ministry.
The High Court, however, found that the challenge was founded on a complete misreading of the constitutional provision. The Bench observed that Article 164(1A) did not prescribe that the number of ministers must be at least 12 per cent of the total strength of the Legislative Assembly. Instead, the proviso expressly stipulated that the number of ministers, including the Chief Minister, shall not be less than 12.
The Court noted that the petitioner had proceeded on an ex facie erroneous interpretation by treating the constitutional requirement as 12 per cent of the House strength rather than a minimum of 12 ministers. The Bench emphasised that a plain reading of the provision left no scope for such an interpretation.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel sought permission to withdraw the plea. The Court, however, declined the request and proceeded to examine the maintainability of the petition. When counsel acknowledged that 14 members, including the Chief Minister, had already been sworn in, the Bench pointed out that the constitutional requirement of a minimum of 12 ministers had clearly been satisfied.
The Court further observed that the total strength of the Assembly had no relevance to the proviso relied upon by the petitioner, since the Constitution prescribes a minimum of 12 ministers and not 12 per cent of the House strength. Finding no merit in the challenge, the High Court dismissed the PIL and directed the petitioner to deposit costs of Rs 50,000 with the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority within two weeks.
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