Uttarakhand HC adjourns hearings in cases of rebel MLAs, anti-Rawat sting

01 April, Dehradun

Dismissed Chief Minister Harish Rawat received a breather today when Uttarakhand High Court adjourned for three weeks the hearing on a PIL demanding a probe in the alleged ”horse-trading sting” against him. In another judgement, the Nainital High Court adjourned till April 11, the hearing on the petition of six of the nine ”rebel Congress MLAs” who had challenged their disqualification by Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal on March 27.

The nine rebels have joined hands with opposition BJP to topple their own government. Their status in 71-member state assembly is crucial to decide the fate of the dismissed Rawat government, in case the court directs it to seek a floor test.

Meanwhile, the PIL demanding high level inquiry and if needed, filing a criminal case against Rawat, was submitted in the High Court yesterday by a resident of Delhi, Manan Sharma.The court, which had yesterday directed Sharma to provide more evidence and documents in the case, adjourned the hearing for three weeks.

The video released by the rebel Congress MLAs allegedly showed Rawat offering money and also opportunity to ”make more money” in lucrative departments, to rebel MLAs, in return for support to his government in the floor test.

Rawat has sought a ban on telecast of the video, describing it as a lie meant to tarnish his image and to be used as an excuse to impose President’s rule in the state. According to BJP, the video was authenticated by the forensic lab in Chandigarh.