Rajasthan Congress chief whip moves SC against HC order, claims rebels trying to lure MLAs

NEW DELHI: Congress’s chief whip in Rajasthan assembly Mahesh Joshi moved the Supreme Court on Friday challenging the high court order virtually staying proceedings on his petition before the Speaker seeking disqualification of 19 rebel MLAs, including Sachin Pilot.
In his appeal, Joshi said the Speaker had only issued notices on his petitions seeking disqualification of the rebel Congress MLAs, who had grossly violated the anti-defection provisions in Tenth Schedule of the Constitution by “acting in concert with the BJP” and making “serious attempts to offer allurements and bribes to members of the INC to switch support to the BJP”. These acts made them perfect candidates for disqualification under Paragraph 2(1)(a) of Tenth Schedule, which dwells on the issue of ‘voluntarily giving up membership’ of the parent party.
Like the Speaker, who has also challenged the July 24 HC order, the chief whip said the HC committed an error by refusing to follow the SC’s five-judge bench ruling in 1992 in Kihoto Hollohan case, where it had barred judicial interference in pending disqualification petitions before the Speaker. In the Hollohan case, the SC had said only a final decision of the Speaker in a disqualification petition could be challenged before the HC or the SC.