<p align="justify" class="title">The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Goa government, Goa Assembly speaker, Election Commission and others on a plea by the Indian National Congress seeking disqualification of Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The minister, who was elected as a Congress legislator, had resigned ahead of a floor test to help the Manohar Parrikar government to win trust vote in the Assembly and got re-elected as a BJP MLA last year.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">He had then blamed the Congress leadership for failing in its efforts to form the government, despite winning 17 seats in a 40-member Assembly.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The Congress party, represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, claimed that "Rane has managed to get re-elected by withholding the fact that he in collusion with others has committed a fraud on the Constitution."</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud also sought a response from the state government and others on the petition.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Among others, the Congress party asked if the Speaker can accept the resignation of an MLA, who has incurred a disqualification by an act of defiance of a whip without conducting an inquiry as contemplated under the proviso to Article 190(3) (b) of the Constitution.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Rane, questioned the plea maintaining that the act of resignation was purely voluntary and cannot attract disqualification.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The petition filed by the Congress and Goa's AICC in-charge A Chella Kumar challenged the Bombay High Court's decision of October 11 last year dismissing its petition.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">They contended the question arose if the pro-tem Speaker was empowered to accept the resignation of such an MLA.</p>
<p align="justify" class="title">The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to the Goa government, Goa Assembly speaker, Election Commission and others on a plea by the Indian National Congress seeking disqualification of Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The minister, who was elected as a Congress legislator, had resigned ahead of a floor test to help the Manohar Parrikar government to win trust vote in the Assembly and got re-elected as a BJP MLA last year.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">He had then blamed the Congress leadership for failing in its efforts to form the government, despite winning 17 seats in a 40-member Assembly.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The Congress party, represented by senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, claimed that "Rane has managed to get re-elected by withholding the fact that he in collusion with others has committed a fraud on the Constitution."</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud also sought a response from the state government and others on the petition.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Among others, the Congress party asked if the Speaker can accept the resignation of an MLA, who has incurred a disqualification by an act of defiance of a whip without conducting an inquiry as contemplated under the proviso to Article 190(3) (b) of the Constitution.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing Rane, questioned the plea maintaining that the act of resignation was purely voluntary and cannot attract disqualification.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">The petition filed by the Congress and Goa's AICC in-charge A Chella Kumar challenged the Bombay High Court's decision of October 11 last year dismissing its petition.</p>.<p align="justify" class="bodytext">They contended the question arose if the pro-tem Speaker was empowered to accept the resignation of such an MLA.</p>