Supreme Court Upholds Disqualification Of 17 Karnataka MLAs, But Allows Them To Contest Upcoming By-Polls
If elected in the by-polls, these disqualified Karnataka MLAs can become ministers or hold public office.
The Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of 17 members of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, but allowed them to contest the upcoming by-elections.
Here are the other highlights from the judgment of the three-judge bench of Justice NV Ramana, Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Krishna Murari:
- If elected in the by-polls, these disqualified Karnataka MLAs can become ministers or hold public office.
- Verdict is based on facts and circumstance of case and does not interfere in Speaker's power to disqualify members
The three-judge bench had on Oct. 25 reserved its verdict on the petitions filed by these MLAs, against then Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar’s decision to disqualify them.
Kumar had disqualified these 17 MLAs of ruling the Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition ahead of a trust vote in July. The then chief minister HD Kumaraswamy had resigned after losing the trust vote, paving the way for the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the state under BS Yediyurappa.
By-Polls On Dec. 5
By-polls to 15 out of these 17 assembly seats which fell vacant following the disqualification of MLAs are scheduled on Dec. 5 and candidates are required to file their nomination papers between Nov. 11 and Nov. 18.
(With PTI Inputs)
(This is a developing story.)