Gauhat HC stays disqualification of 14 Arunachal Cong rebel MLAs

In a significant order, the Gauhati high court here on Tuesday stayed the disqualification of 14 Congress MLAs from the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.

The court, hearing a writ petition of MLA Pema Khandu and others, set aside the order of Speaker Nabam Rebia in which he had disqualified the membership of 14 Congress MLAs on December 15. The court found prima facie, illegality in the Speaker order, which was issued without serving notice to the legislators. The order of the court will have direct implication over the deadlock in the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly.

The Gauhati high court is also hearing a batch of interlocutory applications filed by the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly’s deputy speaker T. Norbu and some MLAs to vacate or modify the court’s earlier order of keeping the Assembly’s December 16 proceedings in abeyance. The HC had on December 21 given an order directing not to hold any session till January 4, 2016 of the Arunachal Pradesh Assembly after hearing a batch of interlocutory applications filed by the deputy speaker of the Assembly and some MLAs. The interlocutory applications were a prayer to vacate and modify the court’s interim order dated December 17 on the ground that under Article 212, the proceedings of any legislature of a state cannot be interfered with by the court.

The applicants have stated that the court had interfered with its interim order keeping in abeyance the decision(s) of the session held on December 16, 2015.

The writ petition by the Speaker of Arunachal Pradesh Assembly, Nabam Rebia, was filed challenging the notification issued by Governor J P Rajkhowa on December 9 preponing the assembly session to December 16 from January 14, 2016 and also the notification issued by the Deputy Speaker restoring the suspended 14 MLAs.

The writ petition had also challenged the order of the Deputy Speaker for holding of the session at a new place and the decision(s) of the December 16 session.

Justice Hrishikesh Roy, after hearing the case on December 17, had issued notice and in the interim kept in abeyance the decisions of the assembly passed in the December 16 session and had fixed the case for hearing on February 1, 2016.

A political crisis was triggered in Arunachal Pradesh with 21 of the 47 Congress MLAs in the 60-member House, along with 11 BJP and two independent MLAs, extended support to the dissident leader Kalikho Pul. The fresh order of the court has strengthened the dissident camp, which was challenging the leadership of chief minister Nabam Tuki who was summoned by AICC.