Uttarakhand HC stays Prez rule in hill state; asks CM to take floor test in two days

29 March, Dehradun

Two days after the hill state was brought under President’s rule following charges of horse trading, the Uttarakhand High Court Tuesday gave ousted Chief Minister Harish Rawat a chance to prove his majority in the Assembly on March 31.

The single bench of justice U C Dhyani, also ruled that the nine rebel Congress members, disqualified by the Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal, would also vote on March 31.

The process would be held under the supervision of an observer of the High Court, amid tight security.But their votes would be kept secret and separate for identification.Congress welcomed the order and said it was a ‘befitting reply’ to the Modi government’s efforts to subjugate federalism, adding that it was exploring legal options on the court allowing the rebel MLAs to participate in the floor test.

Declining to give any immediate reactions on the verdict, the BJP said it hasn’t received the copy of court order and would be able to comment only after perusing it.”We have not got the court order copy. We will first read it and then certainly comment on it in a constructive way,” BJP spokesperson Shrikant Sharma told reporters.In Dehradun,Rawat said,”The High Court order has put an end to the attempts to destabilise Opposition-ruled states.”

The High Court would take a decision on the validity of their votes on April 1, on a petition challenging their disqualification by the Speaker, according to senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who represented the former chief minister.

Rawat had moved the High Court seeking the stay of President’s rule and a chance to prove his majority in the house as per earlier directives of the Governor. The judge said the secret ballot of disqualified MLAs would be presented to it in a cover by the observer on April 1.