In a three-day breather for Sachin Pilot and other rebel Congress MLAs, the Rajasthan HC on Tuesday asked the Speaker not to act against the rebel Congress MLAs till Friday.
Jaipur, July 21:
The notices to the MLAs, including Sachin Pilot, were served after the Congress complained to the Rajasthan Speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend CLP meetings. (Image: Facebook)
In a big relief for the Pilot camp, the Rajasthan High Court has said no action can be taken against Sachin Pilot and other 18 rebel Congress MLAs till July 24.
The Rajasthan Speaker will defer action against Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel MLAs till Friday, the HC said on Friday.
During hearing of the anti-disqulaification plea by the Pilot camp, the Rajasthan High Court asked Speaker CP Joshi to defer his decision on the disqualification of Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs till July 24. LIVE UPDATES HERE
The High Court also asked the Rajasthan assembly to refrain from taking any action till July 24.
The Rajasthan High Court reserved its order till Friday on a writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state assembly speaker.
The dissident MLAs had moved the court last week amid the infighting in the state unit of the Congress, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his now sacked deputy Pilot tussled for power.
Counsel for the speaker Abhishek Singhvi had on Monday argued that the petition was premature as a decision was yet to be taken on disqualifying the MLAs from the House. There is no scope for interference by a court over the show-cause notices issued by the speaker, he had said.
The speaker is supreme as far as the legislative assembly is concerned and the notices have been issued within the purview of the speaker’s power, Singhvi had said.
He had argued that there was no requirement to record reasons as it was merely a show-cause notice.
The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday.
The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the assembly is in session.
In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution.
Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit after he rebelled against Gehlot.
