Rajasthan HC refers plea of Sachin Pilot & 18 MLAs to two-judge bench

On Thursday, the Rajasthan High Court referred the plea of Sachin Pilot and 18 supporting MLAs challenging the Assembly Speaker's disqualification notice to a division bench. During the hearing, Justice Satish Chandra Sharma accepted the amended petition filed by the Congress MLAs. Appearing for the Assembly Speaker, Congress RS MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi opposed the plea, citing that the final decision on the disqualification petitions has not been taken.

He argued that judicial intervention cannot be done at this stage of the proceedings. Singhvi added that the petition is not maintainable. Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for Sachin Pilot and 18 supporting MLAs. As per sources, a two-judge bench of the Rajasthan HC will hear the matter on Thursday evening itself. The disqualification notice has been challenged on the grounds that the Assembly is not in session and that the MLAs had not indulged in anti-party activities. 

Read: Rajasthan Govt Crisis LIVE Updates: Rajasthan HC Refers Pilot MLAs' Plea To 2-judge Bench

Read: Kapil Sibal Rebounds From Being Worried For Congress; Won't Buy Pilot's 'not Joining BJP'

Rajasthan political turmoil

Pilot’s departure to Delhi with some of his supporting legislators on July 11 set off alarm bells in the Congress camp. As per sources, he had a one-to-one meeting with senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel, where he listed a long list of grievances. Some of the MLAs from the Pilot camp are believed to be lodged at Gurugram as well. Additionally, sources revealed that Pilot had sought a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the step-motherly treatment being meted out to his faction.

On July 13, the Congress Legislative Party in Rajasthan passed a resolution unanimously supporting the state government led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The MLAs also condemned all acts intended to weaken the government. They also called for strict disciplinary action to be taken against any Congress MLA or office-bearer of the party directly or indirectly involved in anti-party activities. However, Sachin Pilot and his loyalists stayed away from this meeting.

Moreover, they rejected the Congress party's overtures by refusing to attend the second CLP meeting convened on Tuesday. A day earlier, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala asked Sachin Pilot and other dissident MLAs to prove their loyalty to the party by returning to Jaipur. Taking a dig at Pilot, Surjewala urged the MLAs to talk on party forums instead of communicating through the media.

Read: Sachin Pilot Moves HC Against Speaker's Notice; Harish Salve & Mukul Rohatgi His Counsels