The Panjim Bench of the Bombay High Court on Wednesday declined to hear a petition filed by rebel Congress MLA Victoria Fernandes seeking a writ of mandamus from the courts to direct Speaker Pratapsingh Rane to accept her resignation from the House.

Mr Justice R S Mohite, the senior judge on the bench “expressed his personal inability to hear the case,” Mr A S Nadkarni, counsel for Mrs Fernandes told Deccan Herald.

He said the MLA would approach the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to constitute a special bench to hear the petition.

Mrs Victoria Fernandes who broke away from the Congress to align with the four-party BJP-led Goa Democratic Alliance after she was denied a cabinet berth, sent her resignation to Mr Rane on July 25.

 But the Speaker on July 30 took up a disqualification petition against the rebel Congress MLA, Victoria Fernandes, and debarred her from voting in the state assembly.

Mrs Fernandes’ petition says her resignation was tendered without any duress and the Speaker could not refuse to accept it on the “lame pretext” that she had not met him in person. The Speaker’s action was “unconstitutional and illegal under Article 226 of the Constitution,” says the petition.’