The confidence vote won by the Nayab Singh Saini government in Haryana on March 13 will not be a legal hurdle if the opposition parties convince the governor to reconvene the House for a Lok Sabha test within six months.
Legal and parliamentary affairs experts say there is no time limit on seeking to repeat a motion of no confidence in the government.
According to the constitution, the interval between two meetings of the state assembly shall not exceed six months. The last session of the state Legislature is March 13.
Former Haryana Congress secretary Ram Narain Yadav said the six-month rule does not apply if the opposition seeks a no-confidence motion. “In many cases, multiple no-confidence motions were moved in the legislature before the six-month expiry of the first motion,” Yadav said.
A few examples of no-confidence motions six months ago
According to the publication Responsibility of the Cabinet to the Legislature by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, there were several instances where opposition members of the Lok Sabha moved no-confidence motions six months before the first such motion was introduced in the Lok Sabha.
On May 9, 1974, Jyotimoy Bhosu, a CPI(M) MP from West Bengal, moved a motion of no confidence against the central government led by Indira Gandhi in the Fifth Lok Sabha. The main reason for this motion was the railway strike. The motion was defeated on May 10, 1974.
Within three months, Bossu again moved a no-confidence motion against the Indira Gandhi government on July 23, 1974, saying that the enacted ordinances imposing compulsory deposit schemes on taxpayers and restricting dividends were completely unreasonable. The motion was defeated on July 25, 1974.
On May 8, 1981, in the 7th House of Commons, George Fernandez moved a no-confidence motion, but the motion was defeated on May 9, 1981. About four months later, Samar Mukherjee moved another no-confidence motion on September 17, 1981. The motion was defeated when put to a vote.
On July 17, 1992, Jaswant Singh moved a no-confidence motion against the PV Narasimha Rao government in the 10th Lok Sabha. Five months later, Atal Behari Vajpayee moved another no-confidence motion against the same government on December 21, 1992.
Haryana Assembly Speaker Gyan Chand Gupta said the governor will use his wisdom to decide whether a no-confidence motion can be moved in the House. “Normally, once a government wins a vote of confidence, no motion of no-confidence is tabled for six months. However, the decision rests with the governor,” the spokesman said.
Keshavam Chaudhri, counsel at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, said there is no specific rule providing for a six-month waiting period between two no-confidence motions. “If MLAs who support the government withdraw their support, the minority government cannot get six months just because of the time gap,” he said.
Experts said the Haryana governor can exercise his discretion under Article 163(1) and ask the government to prove its majority if he is convinced that the government has lost its majority in the House.