Shillong, March 27 : The Supreme Court today quashed the order of the Shillong bench of Gauhati High Court that had stayed the disqualification of Independent member Limison Sangma, one among the five legislators who had deserted the MPA.
Independent legislator and MPA delegate Manas Chaudhuri, who is one of the petitioners, said the Supreme Court had quashed the high court order.
The Supreme Court said the Speaker’s ruling would prevail in all such cases.
Though separate special leave petitions were filed against all the other four legislators who had deserted the MPA, Chaudhuri claimed that today’s verdict was enough to prove that the fate of other four legislators will be the same.
Limison’s special leave petition was heard today by the division bench comprising Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice A.K. Ganguly.
Former Attorney-General and senior Supreme Court lawyer Soli Sorabji and senior Supreme Court lawyers Mukul Rohtagi and Amit Kumar appeared on behalf of the petitioners.
Chaudhuri said the special leave petitions regarding other suspended legislators will be taken up in the coming days.
Senior Supreme Court lawyer Amit Kumar, told The Telegraph that “Meghalaya Speaker Bindo Lanong can now give the final order of disqualification”.
The lawyer said the cases relating to other Meghalaya legislators would follow the same course once taken up by the Supreme Court.
Soon after the Meghalaya Speaker Bindo Lanong suspended the five legislators on March 17, Limison Sangma, Ismail Marak (Independents), Paul Lyngdoh (KHNAM), Adviser Pariong (HSPDP) and Sanbor Shullai (NCP) had filed petitions in the Shillong bench of Gauhati High Court against their interim disqualification.
So far, the high court had stayed the interim disqualification of Limison Sangma, Paul Lyngdoh and Sanbor Shullai.
The petitions of Ismail Marak and Adviser Pariong will come up for hearing in the Shillong bench tomorrow.
UDP ‘poll rally’
The United Democratic Party, the coalition partner of the Meghalaya Progressive Alliance, will hold a rally against President’s rule, under heavy security and video surveillance, at Malki ground here on Saturday after securing the nod from the East Khasi Hills district administration.
The UDP had written to the East Khasi Hills deputy commissioner, B. Dhar, to allow the party to hold an “election rally”, without any reference to President’s rule in the state.
“I allowed the UDP to hold the rally only because it was mentioned in the letter that it wanted to hold an election rally. There will be tight security and surveillance through video cameras during the rally”, Dhar told The Telegraph.
He said permission was granted for the rally on condition that the party did not violate the model of code of conduct.