HC directs Speaker to dispose petition within eight weeks

Parida had petitioned the Speaker under Article 191 of the Constitution and the Rules governing thereof seeking disqualification of all four NCP MLAs, who had voluntarily given up their memberships from the party and had joined the ruling BJD in the state earlier this year.

Speaker Pradeep Kumar Amat had, however, not paid any heed to the petition of Parida saying that he was not a member of the Assembly and hence he (Parida) cannot seek any relief from the Speaker under Article 191 of the Constitution.

But a Division Bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice V Gopala Gowda and Justice B K Mishra today overruled the objection filed by the Speaker and observed that any interested person can petition the Speaker seeking disqualification of any member of the House on the ground of defection as per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.

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