Gauhati HC comes down heavily on notification issued by Rajkhowa; stays Arunachal 'session' decisions

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati high court has come down heavily on the notification issued by Arunachal governor JP Rajkhowa advancing the assembly session while freezing all decisions — including the removal of Speaker Nebam Rebia, voting out of chief minister Nabam Tuki and election of a dissident Congressman as CM — during a ‘special session’ held by rebel and BJP MLAs at a community hall and a hotel on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Coming down heavily on the notification issued by Governor Rajkhowa, Justice Hrishikesh Roy observed that prima facie it violated Article 174 and 175 of the Constitution dealing with convening of the session by the governor and his message to House. The court order came on a writ petition filed by the Speaker challenging the December 9 notification issued by the governor advancing the assembly session to December 16 from January 24.

Earlier on Thursday, Opposition BJP and rebel Congress MLAs got together in a local hotel to ‘vote out’ the Nabam Tuki-led Congress government in Arunachal Pradesh and ‘elected’ a rebel Congress MLA as the ‘new chief minister’. The dramatic development came a day after they ‘impeached’ Speaker Nabam Rebia in a make-shift ‘assembly’ premises in a community hall. Eleven BJP MLAs and two Independent MLAs had joined hands with 20 Congress rebels to meet at a conference hall of a hotel here as the assembly premises have been sealed since Wednesday.

Justice Hrishikesh Roy also kept in abeyance the notification issued by the deputy speaker restoring the membership of 14 suspended MLAs. The judge allowed petitioner Kapil Sibal to implead the government of Arunachal Pradesh as a party respondent. He posted the case for next hearing on February 1.

A total 33 members of the 60-member house participated in electing dissident Congressman Kalikho Pul as the new ‘chief minister’. Chief Minister Nabam Tuki and 26 supporting MLAs boycotted the proceedings terming it as “illegal and unconstitutional”.

Tension prevailed in several areas following the standoff between Raj Bhavan and Tuki. The governor was heckled by Tuki supporters, while those of rebel leader Kalikho Pul protested outside Raj Bhavan. The deputy Speaker had argued that the ‘composite floor test’ was introduced by the Supreme Court of India in the Kalyan Singh Vs Jagadambika Pal case in the UP assembly, where members could participate in a no-confidence motion against the government.