Rebel U'khand MLA fails to stall opening of floor test results in SC

An attempt by a disqualified rebel Congress MLA to stop the opening of the result of the yesterday's floor test in Uttarakhand Assembly failed today in the Supreme Court which declined to entertain the plea with a warning that a cost will be imposed.
Rebel Congress MLA Shaila Rani Rawat, whose plea was listed before the main matter in which the apex court allowed the Centre to lift the President's rule in the state, had submitted that she was not a party in the Uttarakhand High Court which upheld her disqualification with eight others.
When her counsel M L Sharma made a submission in this regard, a bench, comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh, said "we will verify the record" and posted the matter for hearing at the time when they were scheduled to take up the main matter.

The advocate had claimed that the disqualified woman MLA was not aware of the hearing in the High Court as she was busy in her assembly constituency which was facing a "crisis" due to the recent incident of forest fire.
Not satisfied with his claims, the bench said "we will impose cost. You filed the Special Leave Petition against the High Court order and now you filed a separate writ petition."
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for Harish Rawat, submitted she was the second co-petitioner in the Uttarakhand High Court and hence, her submission is untenable.

Realising the mood of the bench, the advocate preferred to withdraw the petition.
However, when the main matter came up for hearing, he once again interrupted the proceedings saying he has filed an intervention application on the limited point that how after the imposition of President's rule, the Assembly Speaker can disqualify an MLA.
The bench said that intervention application can be heard when it will hear the Centre's appeal against the High Court decision quashing the proclamation of President's rule in the state.