THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary - June 15, 2018 - Topic 1
Suspense
continues: on TN MLAs' disqualification case

If the Bench had struck
down the disqualification, the MLAs owing loyalty to Amma Makkal Munnetra
Kazhagam leader T.T.V. Dhinakaran would return to the Assembly – a scenario in
which the AIADMK regime would find itself cornered, as it owes its majority to
the 18 disqualifications. Had the disqualifications been upheld, the ruling party
would have been faced with the uphill task of retaining the seats in
by-elections. The case relates to a memorandum given by Mr. Dhinakaran’s
loyalists to the Governor in August 2017, expressing lack of confidence in the
Chief Minister and requesting the Governor to set in motion a “constitutional
process” against him. On a complaint from the party’s Chief Whip, the Speaker
ruled the MLAs had incurred disqualification, as their action amounted to
voluntarily giving up party membership, one of the grounds for disqualification
under the anti-defection law.
While both judges are cognisant of the limits of
judicial review on the matter, Chief Justice Indira Banerjee, upholding the
September 2017 order of disqualification, has declined to interfere on the ground
that it was proper to examine only the decision-making process, not its merits.
She concedes that mere criticism of the Chief Minister or withdrawal of
support, by itself, would not attract disqualification; at the same time, she
rules that if the MLAs’ action results in the fall of their party’s government,
it is “tantamount to implied relinquishment” of their membership. She finds no
perversity or mala fide in the Speaker’s action. Justice M. Sundar,
on the other hand, is categorical that the Speaker’s order is vitiated by all
the four grounds on which judicial review in such cases is permitted:
perversity, mala fide, violation of natural justice and the constitutional
mandate. He terms as mala fide the Speaker’s decision not to apply
the disqualification rule to S.T.K. Jakkaiyan only because he returned to the
loyalist fold. He agrees with the contention that the Speaker’s order was aimed
at creating an “artificial majority”. He is clear that the question of
voluntarily giving up membership of the AIADMK would not arise when the party
itself was embroiled in a factional tussle before the Election Commission. The
third judge, to whom the matter will be referred now, has to choose between the
limited view of the decision-making process taken by Justice Banerjee, and the
more expansive view taken by Justice Sundar.
Vocabulary
Prolong: extend
the duration of.
Example: An
idea that prolonged the life of the engine by many years
Synonyms: lengthen, extend, draw
out, drag out, protract, spin out, stretch out
Uncertainty: the
state of being uncertain.
Example: Times
of uncertainty and danger
Synonyms: unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness, chanciness, precariousness
Split: a
tear, crack, or fissure in something, especially down the middle or along the
grain.
Example: Light
squeezed through a small split in the curtain
Synonyms: crack, fissure, cleft, crevice, break, fracture, breach
Unanimous: fully
in agreement.
Example: The
doctors were unanimous in their diagnoses
Synonyms: united, in
agreement, in accord, of one mind, of the same mind
Adversely: preventing
success or development; harmful; unfavorable.
Example: Taxes
are having an adverse effect on production
Synonyms: unfavorable, disadvantageous, inauspicious, unpropitious, unfortunate
Scenario: a
written outline of a movie, novel, or stage work giving details of the plot and
individual scenes.
Example: Imagine
the scenarios for four short stories
Synonyms: plot, outline, synopsis, storyline, framework, screenplay
Confidence: the
feeling or belief that one can rely on someone or something; firm trust.
Example: We
had every confidence in the staff
Synonyms: trust, belief, faith, credence, conviction
Criticism: the
expression of disapproval of someone or something based on perceived faults or
mistakes.
Example: He
received a lot of criticism
Synonyms: censure, condemnation, denunciation, disapproval, disparagement
Tantamount: equivalent
in seriousness to; virtually the same as.
Example: The
resignations were tantamount to an admission of guilt
Synonyms: equivalent
to, equal to, as good as, more or less, much the same as
Artificial: insincere
or affected.
Example: An
artificial smile
Synonyms: insincere, feigned, false, unnatural, contrived, put-on, exaggerated
Contention: heated
disagreement.
Example: The
captured territory was one of the main areas of contention between the two
countries
Synonyms: disagreement, dispute, disputation, argument, discord
Expansive: covering
a wide area in terms of space or scope; extensive or wide-ranging.
Example: Deep,
expansive canyons
Synonyms: extensive, sweeping, rolling; wide-ranging, extensive
