SC adjourns Uttarakhand disqualified MLAs case

Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India] July 10 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the Uttarakhand disqualified MLAs case for final disposal on October 25. The disqualified MLAs contended that Speaker cannot convene assembly or disqualify them after Presidential proclamation in the state. Appearing for former chief minister Harish Rawat and other Congress MLAs, Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that both cases are in fructuous due to a new government in the state. Last year, the rebel MLAs, led by Vijay Bahuguna, had questioned the constitutional validity of their disqualification after Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal disqualified them, saying they violated the defection law and deserved to be punished. Eight of the nine rebel Congress legislators had moved the Uttarakhand High Court on two grounds - that they were not given enough time by the Speaker to respond to the charges and that they were not provided 'proof' of their alleged anti-party activities. The conflict between the Congress and their legislators arose during a debate over the Finance Bill during Budget Session of the Uttarakhand Assembly. The Speaker had on March 27, 2017 disqualified the nine Congress MLAs, including Bahuguna, who spearheaded the rebellion against Rawat under the anti-defection law. In the 70-member assembly, the Congress has 27 members excluding the nine legislators. (ANI)