HC dismisses five Karnataka MLAs’ plea on disqualification

PTI

Bangalore, 14 February 2011: In a shot in the arm for B S Yeddyurappa government, the Karnataka High Court today upheld the Speaker’s order disqualifying five independent MLAs, who had withdrawn support to the ruling BJP, from the assembly membership on the eve of October 11 trust vote which it won.

 

Dismissing petitions filed by the five MLAs challenging their disqualification by Speaker K G Bopaiah, a full bench of the court pronounced the verdict which held that the October 10 order is not in violation of constitutional mandate nor is there any infirmity based on malafides or perversity.

 

The Speaker had disqualified 16 MLAs -- 11 from BJP and five Independents -- under anti-defection law before Chief minister B S Yeddyurappa won a vote a confidence on the floor of the Assembly, passing a concurrent order on separate petitions seeking their disqualification.

 

The petitions had been filed by BJP MLAs C T Ravi and D N Jevaraj and a voter each from five constituencies from where the five were elected. The bench, comprising Justice Mohan Shantanagoudar, Justice S Abdul Nazeer and Justice A S Bopanna, held that the petitions filed by the five voters are "maintainable".

 

The five MLAs -- Gulihatti D Shekar, Venkataramanappa, P M Narendraswamy, D Sudhakar and Shivaraj Thangadagi -- prayed for quashing the Speaker’s order as "illegal, void and not enforceable" on the ground that they were not BJP members. But the BJP had maintained that they had joined it and attended its legislature party meetings.