SC declines permission to rebel Uttarakhand MLAs to attend Assembly session

New Delhi: Nine disqualified Uttarakhand Congress MLAs, who had approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to attend the upcoming session of the state Assembly, have failed to win approval from the apex court.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to allow the rebel Congress MLAs, who have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to attend the Uttarakhand Assembly session starting July 21.

The MLAs had also urged the SC for a reconsideration of the Speaker’s decision to disqualify them.

“The Speaker, who is facing a motion for removal, cannot disqualify members of the Assembly,” the court had said in its July 13 verdict on Arunachal Pradesh, which faced a similar crisis.

The apex court today said “the outcome of rebels notice seeking removal of the Speaker will be subjected to final verdict of Supreme Court”.

 

In the Uttarakhand Assembly, a motion seeking removal of Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal was under consideration when the nine rebel Congress MLAs were disqualified.

The Centre had in March imposed President's rule in Uttarakhand. Nearly two months later, the Harish Rawat-led Congress government was brought back after the apex court directed a trust vote in the Assembly.

The Speaker had then on March 27 disqualified the nine rebel Congress MLAs for supporting the BJP.

The Uttarakhand High Court had later upheld the Speaker's decision.