Assembly Disqualification: Himachal Pradesh Ex- Congress MLAs Withdraw Plea from SC

Six former Congress MLAs withdrew their plea from the Supreme Court on Friday against the Himachal Pradesh Assembly speaker’s decision to disqualify them from the House.

Senior advocate Abhinav Mukherjee, representing the former MLAs, informed a bench comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta about their intention to withdraw the petition.

The bench, while permitting the withdrawal, remarked, “We knew this was going to happen due to the elections.”

How the Tables Have Turned

The six former MLAs, who had been disqualified for cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha polls in the state, are now contesting assembly bypolls as BJP candidates.

On March 18, the apex court had declined to stay the disqualification order issued by the Himachal Pradesh Assembly speaker.

Disqualified MLAs

Sudhir Sharma, Ravi Thakur, Rajinder Rana, Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Chetanya Sharma, and Devinder Kumar Bhutto were disqualified on February 29 for defying a Congress whip to be present in the House and vote in favor of the Himachal Pradesh government during the cut motion and budget.

The bypolls for the six assembly seats are slated to be held on June 1, coinciding with the polling for the state’s four Lok Sabha seats.

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