SC refuses to stay disqualification of 6 Himachal Congress MLAs
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the disqualification of six dissenting Congress MLAs from the Himachal Pradesh Assembly. The disqualification order was handed down by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania after the legislators cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections last month. The SC bench, comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, has requested a response from Pathania's office within four weeks concerning the issue.
Why does this story matter?
Last month, the six Congress MLAs had cross-voted during the Rajya Sabha election triggering a political crisis in the state. Soon after, the BJP MLAs had met the governor seeking a test of strength for the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government in the assembly. With the disqualification of these MLAs, the Congress had retained the majority in the House, and had put an end to a 48-hour scare over the possibility of the BJP returning to power in Himachal Pradesh.
Disqualified MLAs excluded from assembly activities
The SC has prohibited the dissenting Congress MLAs from voting or participating in any of the assembly activities while their appeal is under consideration, The court also scheduled a date to review whether the by-elections for the six vacant seats should be put on hold during their appeal process. The case is set for hearing on May 6, providing the dissenting MLAs a week to submit their counter-arguments before nominations for the vacant seats commence on May 7.
SC questioned MLAs' choice to sidestep HC
Last week, the Supreme Court asked why the MLAs did not first approach the high court to contest their disqualification. The bench, consisting of justices Khanna, Datta, and Prashant Kumar Mishra, expressed uncertainty about the validity of the appeal under Article 32 of the Constitution. They questioned which fundamental right of the petitioners was infringed upon due to their disqualification.
MLAs disqualified for defying party whip on Finance Bill
The six MLAs—Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto—were disqualified on February 29. Speaker Pathania said that the six MLAs were disqualified for defying the party whip to vote in favour of the government on the Finance Bill in the House on Wednesday. The petition for action was filed by Congress MLA and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Wardhan Chauhan under the anti-defection law for disqualification of the MLAs.
Strength of House reduced to 62
The recent disqualification action has created vacancies in assembly constituencies Dharamshala, Lahaul and Spiti, Sujanpur, Barsar, Gagret, and Kutlehar. This has reduced the effective strength of the House from 68 to 62, with the number of Congress MLAs decreasing from 40 to 34. The opposition BJP now holds 25 seats, while three others are held by independent candidates.
