New Delhi:
The Supreme Court docket is scheduled to listen to on March 18 a plea filed by six Congress rebels, who had cross-voted within the latest Rajya Sabha polls in Himachal Pradesh, in opposition to their disqualification from the state meeting.
The six rebels – Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma and Devinder Kumar Bhutto – have been disqualified for defying a Congress whip to be current within the Home and vote in favour of the Himachal Pradesh authorities through the reduce movement and finances.
As per the trigger checklist of Monday uploaded on the highest court docket web site, the plea would come up for listening to earlier than a bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Dipankar Datta.
When the plea was heard by the highest court docket on March 12, the bench requested the petitioners as to why they haven’t moved the excessive court docket difficult their disqualification. The counsel representing the petitioners had stated it was a uncommon case the place the Speaker disqualified these MLAs inside 18 hours.
The petitioners have made Pathania, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan and others as celebration respondents of their plea filed within the prime court docket.
Following the disqualification of the rebels, the efficient power of the Home has gone right down to 62 from 68, whereas the variety of Congress MLAs has shrunk to 34 from 40.
The insurgent MLAs, of their petition, have alleged violation of the precept of pure justice, claiming they didn’t get enough alternative to reply to the disqualification petition.
Asserting the disqualification of the six MLAs at a press convention on February 29, the Speaker stated they attracted disqualification below the anti-defection regulation as they defied the celebration whip. He dominated that they ceased to be members of the Home with instant impact.
The petition looking for their disqualification was filed by the Himachal Pradesh parliamentary affairs minister earlier than the Speaker for defying the whip that required them to be current within the Home and vote for the finances.
Underneath the anti-defection regulation, any elected member who offers up the membership of a political celebration voluntarily or votes or abstains from voting within the Home, opposite to any route issued by his political celebration, is chargeable for disqualification.
These MLAs had signed the attendance register however abstained from the Home through the voting on the Finances, the Speaker stated. They have been issued notices for defying the whip via WhatsApp and e-mail and have been requested to look for the listening to.
The Himachal Pradesh Meeting handed the Finance Invoice by voice vote after the Speaker suspended 15 BJP MLAs. The speaker then adjourned the session.
In his 30-page order, he stated the plea of the lawyer of the insurgent MLAs, senior advocate Satya Pal Jain, for giving time to answer to the discover was not entertained as “evidence was absolutely clear”. The Speaker stated delivering fast judgment was obligatory in such circumstances to take care of the dignity of democracy and test the “Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram” phenomenon.
The judgment had no hyperlink with cross-voting by these MLAs within the Rajya Sabha polls, the Speaker added.
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is printed from a syndicated feed.)