New Delhi, March 18 – The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice on a plea filed by rebel Congress Himachal Pradesh legislators challenging their disqualification from the state Assembly.
The six Congress MLAs, who cross-voted for the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha polls, were disqualified by Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania for defying a party whip by abstaining from voting on the budget.
A bench, headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Dipankar Datta, refused to pass any interim orders staying the disqualification but issued notice on the application seeking a stay on fresh elections.
In the petition filed directly before the apex court, the rebel MLAs – Rajinder Rana, Sudhir Sharma, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Devinder Kumar Bhutoo, Ravi Thakur and Chetanya Sharma – said that the February 29 order passed by the Speaker is “illegal and constitutional”.
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