Disqualification plea: HC adjourns matter as Speaker seeks time

The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday adjourned the hearing of petition related to the disqualification of seven JD(S) MLAs on the request of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly.

The Speaker has sought time to provide a comprehensive response to the court.

Justice Raghavendra Chauhan adjourned the hearing to April 2, when the Speaker said that he will need some time to file his objections in response to the petition. During the hearing, the bench orally observed that according to the Supreme Court, the High Court has the power to direct  the Speaker to decide a disqualification petition pending before him within a  particular time. The court can do so by exercising its writ jurisdiction under Article 226.

The Speaker represented by senior counsel Jaykumar
S Patil asked the court to allow him to have a meeting with the persons concerned and then take a decision in this matter. The petitioners' counsel stated that adjourning the hearing of the matter was an attempt by the respondents to prevent the court from passing an interim order and to allow the seven MLAs to vote in the Rajya Sabha polls.