HC dismisses rebel Cong MLAs' plea

Attempts by rebel Congress MPs in Uttarakhand to stave off any adverse action against them ahead of government's trial of strength did not fructify with the High Court today dismissing their plea for a stay on the show cause notices issued to them by the Assembly Speaker. Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia dismissed the plea of nine rebel MLAs seeking a stay on Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal's notices served to them under the anti-defection law, senior Supreme Court lawyer Dinesh Trivedi, counsel for the rebel MLAs, told reporters outside the court.
The court apparently felt it was premature at this stage to intervene in the matter.

The show cause notices were served on the rebel Congress MLAs after they allegedly aligned with the BJP in the State Assembly and claimed that the Harish Rawat government had been reduced to a minority.
The move was seen as an attempt to buy time as the deadline for their reply to the Speaker's show cause expires 5 PM tomorrow. The rebel MLAs sought the stay on the notice contending it was "in violation of natural justice and fair play".
The Speaker is expected to take a decision on the
disqualification of the rebel MLAs. If disqualified, it will reduce the effective strength of the house from 70 to 61 which may make it easier for Rawat to scrape through in the trial of strength on Mar 28.

Meanwhile, rebel Congress MLA leader and sacked minister Harak Singh Rawat shot off a letter to the Speaker seeking evidence to substantiate the charges on the basis of which the notice was issued to him. He sought an extension of at least 15 days to the time-limit for furnishing a reply. Alleging that the charges against him were based on hearsay, Harak asked the speaker to provide him a slew of documentary evidence including the unclipped video recording of the proceedings and the list of persons who attended the Assembly on March 18 when trouble erupted in the House.

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Later talking to reporters in Nainital, Sibal said the basis on which Justice Dhulia rejected the plea of the rebel Congress MLAs will be known only when a copy of the order is made available.
On his line of argument in the court, he said, "Only the Speaker can take a decision on the notices he has issued to the MLAs. So long as he has not taken a decision on the notices, the high court does not come into the picture. One can't take the help of Section 226 of the Constitution in this regard.