Justice Mohan M. Shantanagoudar, a judge of the Supreme Court (SC,) on the 17th of September, recused himself from the petition filed by 17 rebel Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Karnataka.
The rebel MLAs filed a petition against the decision of K.R. Ramesh Kumar, the former Assembly Speaker of Karnataka, to disqualify them from the Assembly. As per the Government rules, a disqualified MLA is not eligible to contest any elections during the term of Assembly session, which is scheduled to end in 2023 in Karnataka.
Justice Mohan said, “In this matter, I am not participating.” According to sources, Justice Mohan Shnatanagoudar refused to hear the petition due to his conscience. He said he is from Karnataka and his conscience does not permit him to hear a case involving the State Government.
A bench of three, headed by Justice N.V. Ramana, was reviewing the matter. After the refusal of Mohan Shantanagoudar, the SC bench said, “Not to be listed before the bench of which one of us (Mohan M Shantanagoudar, J) is a member. The registry is directed to list these writ petitions on Monday, September 23, 2019, before an appropriate bench, after obtaining orders from the Chief Justice of India.”
The MLAs moved the Apex Court after K.R. Ramesh Kumar allegedly disqualified them illegally, before resigning as the Assembly Speaker.
After the resignation of approximately 17 MLAs, the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD[S]) lost power in Karnataka, following which, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP,) which had more MLAs, formed the State Government.
After the resignation of H.D. Kumaraswamy, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, B.S. Yediyurappa, a member of the BJP, took over as the CM and expanded his Cabinet.
The next hearing regarding the disqualification of the 17 MLAs will take place on the 23rd of September by another bench of judges.
Stay tuned for further updates.
