#NewDelhi / #Dehradun : The Supreme Court will on Wednesday resume hearing the Centre’s petition challenging the Uttarakhand high court ruling that quashed President’s rule in the state on April 21.
The apex court held the high court’s verdict in abeyance on April 22 given that a signed copy of the verdict had yet to be released, returning the state to the Centre’s control.
The high court on Tuesday made public the 99-page ruling, stating the imposition of the rule was a “solitary event” that violated a constitutional provision.
A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Dipak Mishra said it wanted a signed copy of the high court judgement before it ruled on the matter after an hour-long, heated argument on the central government’s petition.
The bench also took an undertaking from attorney general Mukul Rohatgi that the “Union of India shall not revoke the Presidential proclamation till the next date of hearing”, set for April 27.
The apex court clarified that the judgement was being suspended as a measure of balance for both parties as the copy of the verdict was not made available to them. It had also asked deposed chief minister Harish Rawat to prove his majority in the assembly on April 29, and upheld the disqualification of nine dissident Congress legislators.
The BJP-led central government had moved the top court after it suffered a setback with the Uttarakhand high court’s ruling, restoring status quo ante with Rawat.
Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi claimed that Rawat, who chaired two Cabinet meetings on the one day the high court’s order was effective, had no authority to do so without the written court order being received by all concerned parties.
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