Disqualified MLA challenges Speaker's decision in HC

A disqualified MLA of Assam today filed a petition in the Gauhati High Court challenging Legislative Assembly Speaker Pranab Kumar Gogoi's decision to expel him as a member of the House for joining another party.
Justice Hrishikesh Roy, after hearing the petition, issued notice to the respondents and fixed the next day of hearing for the case on February eight, 2016.
Pradan Baruah challenged the decision of the Speaker on the ground that once a member is expelled from the party it loses the right to invoke the provisions of anti-defection law against the expelled member.
The Speaker had yesterday disqualified nine rebel Congress MLAs, including Baruah, from the membership of the House with immediate effect for joining opposition BJP after being elected from another party.

The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee had already expelled these MLAs from the primary memberships in November this year.
On a complaint by Khan's sister-in-law, a case under IPC

sections 354A(sexual harassment), 506(criminal intimidation), 509(word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), 120B(criminal conspiracy) and 498A(husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) was lodged at Jamia Nagar police station.
He was earlier arrested on July 24 on a complaint by a Jasola resident who alleged that he tried to mow her down after she visited his residence to raise the issue of power cuts. He was released on bail on July 28.

That case was registered under Sections 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman or eve teasing) of the IPC at Jamia Nagar police station.
Fifteen AAP MLAs have so far been booked by the Delhi Police on various charges and 12 have been arrested.