New Delhi: The Supreme Court will today resume hearing on Centre's plea against Nainital High Court's order which set aside the President's rule in Uttarakhand.
A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra on Friday had put a stay on HC’s verdict till Wednesday reinstating the Harish Rawat government. The bench will today also decide whether there should be a floor test on April 29 as ordered by the High Court.
The bench, also comprising justice Shiva Kirti Singh, had last week made it clear that it was passing an interim order as a measure of balance for both the parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to them, one of the main grounds on which Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi sought a stay on the effect and operation of High Court’s judgment.
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told the Supreme Court that while the Centre waits for a signed copy, Harish Rawat has already begun taking decisions.
“It is directed that the judgment of the High Court shall remain in abeyance till April 27, 2016. That apart, as undertaken by Rohatgi, Attorney General, the Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential Proclamation till the next date of hearing,” the bench had said.
While listing the matter for hearing on April 27, the bench had said that the High Court shall provide the judgment passed to the parties by April 26 and on the same date the copy of the verdict shall also be placed before the apex court.
The political crisis in Uttarakhand started on March 18 when 9 Congress MLAs, along with 27 BJP legislators, met Governor KK Paul at the Raj Bhavan in Dehradun, and sought the dismissal of the Harish Rawat government. Rawat had, however, maintained that he enjoyed a majority in the 71-seat Uttarakhand Assembly. Following this, Paul gave Rawat a deadline of March 28 to prove his majority in Assembly but the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre imposed President’s Rule in the state saying the Assembly failed to pass the Budget.
