HC keeps status quo: Decoding the decision

THE PILOT CAMP HAS CONTENDED THAT MERELY VOICING OPINION AGAINST PARTY LEADERSHIP DOES NOT AMOUNT TO ‘VOLUNTARILY GIVING UP MEMBERSHIP’

AND CLAUSE 2(1)(A)

nNEW DELHI: The Rajasthan high court on Friday deferred its final verdict on the plea filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress lawmakers challenging the state assembly speaker CP Joshi’s notices of disqualification sent to them. It admitted the case and framed 12 legal questions, which it will examine. Importantly, the high court ordered Joshi to maintain the status quo, effectively barring him from acting on the notices. lohan v. Zachillu case, had held that judicial review should not cover any stage prior to the making of a decision by the speaker/chairman. No interference would be permissible at an interlocutory stage of the proceedings, the court had said. The court is proposing to re-examine this legal principle.

If the three-judge Supreme Court bench, which is currently hearing the case, thinks that a five-judge bench judgment needs re-consideration, then it might have to send the matter to a larger bench of seven judges. This means the Supreme Court verdict will take a long time.

has not expressly mentioned it in its Friday order that it will wait for the Supreme Court order before it hears the case again. But since the case has been admitted by the high court, it is not likely to come up for hearing immediately. Moreover, the Supreme Court has clarified the high court judgment will be subject to the outcome of the proceedings in the apex court. This means the high court might not take up the matter again until the Supreme Court settles the legal question.