Maintaining that he was not for any confrontation, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee on Saturday told the judiciary that 'it would have been proper' if it had first decided whether it had the 'constitutional authority' to go into the issue of expulsion of MPs.
Terming as 'not called for', the Court's decision to go into the issue, he said it was the 'exclusive domain of the Legislature' and judicial proceedings were 'not maintainable' as they lack the sanction of the Constitution.
Making it clear that there was no question of adopting an attitude of confrontation with the court, he told a meeting of presiding officers - "With all respect to the Honourable Court, I feel, it would have been proper if the court had first decided as to whether it had the Constitutional authority to look into the question".
"Until that is decided, the question of determination of the existence of the right of expulsion and, for that purpose, giving a notice to the Speaker are, if I may say so, not called for," he said, wondering if the court had any right to look into a matter clearly indicated by the Constitution as the 'exclusive domain of the Legislature'.
After an all-party meeting last month, Chatterjee had said that he would 'return with respect' the court notices on the issue.
While all parties supported the Speaker saying Parliament need not take note of the court notices, the Bharatiya Janata Party had held that the Speaker could send a lawyer or tell the government to convey the Parliament's views on the issue.
