Rajasthan Crisis: Relief For Pilot Camp As HC Orders Status Quo, Rebel MLAs Can't Be Disqualified For Now

No action can be taken against Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress leaders for now, the Rajasthan High Court said Friday.

The court said there will be "status quo" until its decision on the rebels' petition against disqualification notices.

During the hearing, the court also allowed prayer by rebel Congress MLAs, led by Pilot, to make the Centre a party in the case. 

Additional Solicitor General RD Rastogi will appear for the Centre in the high court and make submissions in Pilot's plea.

The Supreme Court Thursday allowed the Rajasthan HC to pronounce order on plea of 19 dissident Congress MLAs, including sacked deputy CM Pilot, against the Assembly Speaker's notice for initiating disqualification proceedings against them, but said that it would be subject to the outcome of the petition before the top court. SC will hear the case on July 27

Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi however failed to get any interim relief on his plea alleging that the high court cannot interdict the disqualification proceedings undertaken by him under 10th schedule of the Constitution.

A bench of Justices Arun Mishra, B R Gavai and Krsihna Murari said Joshi's plea raises important questions and requires prolonged hearing.

“We are not restraining the High Court from passing the order but it will be subject to the outcome of the petition (of Speaker) before the Supreme Court,” the bench said, while fixing the plea for hearing on July 27.

“Voice of dissent in democracy cannot be shut down”, the bench observed.

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“We are trying to find out whether this process (disqualification) was permissible or not," it said, while questioning Joshi on the reasons for initiating disqualification proceedings against the 19 dissident Congress MLAs.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Joshi, listed the reasons for starting the disqualification proceedings, saying that these MLAs did not attend party meetings and conspired to destabilise their own government.

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Seeking an interim stay on the high court's July 21 order, the plea has said that it was the duty of the top court to ensure that all constitutional authorities exercise their jurisdiction within the boundaries and respect their “respective ‘lakshman rekha’ as envisaged by the Constitution itself”.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Gehlot said an assembly session will be called soon and his government will prove its majority.

(With PTI inputs)