Bengaluru : The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld an order by for Karnataka Assembly Speaker, disqualifying 17 MLAs belonging to Congress and Janata Dal Secular(JDS).
However the apex court struck down one restriction in the order and allowed all the disqualified MLAs to contest in the upcoming bypolls
“We uphold the order of speaker of disqualification. But strike out the period of disqualification” the court said.
The revolt by the accused MLAs had triggered the collapse of Janta Dal Secular-Congress govt and the takeover of BS Yediyurappa-led BJP in the state.
Some of the MLAs argued in the SC that they had an “indefeasible right” to resign as members of the assembly and criticized the speaker’s decision to disqualify them. They were represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal.
A three-judge bench of justices NV Ramana, Sanjiv Khana and Krishna Murari presided over the case.
Bypolls in the 15 out of 17 Karnataka assembly seats, that fell vacant following speaker’s decision earlier, is scheduled on Dec 5. The Election Commission is yet to announce byelections in the remaining to constituencies of Maski and Rajarajeshwari.
