Supreme Court Judgements:

♤ S.R. Bommai Case (1994): The court accorded primacy to a floor test as a check of majority. The court also said that the power under Article 356 is extraordinary and must be used wisely and not for political gain.

♤ Rameshwar Prasad Case (2006): Bihar Governor’s recommendation for dissolving the Assembly the previous year was held to be illegal and mala fide. A Governor cannot shut out post-poll alliances altogether as one of the ways in which a popular government may be formed. The court had also said unsubstantiated claims of horse-trading or corruption in efforts at government formation cannot be cited as reasons to dissolve the Assembly