Supreme Court stays HC case against Election Commission for putting off Karnataka bypolls

NEW DELHI: The SC has stayed proceedings in the Karnataka High Court against the Election Commission’s decision to postpone bypolls to December.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice NV Ramana also began hearing pleas of erstwhile Congress and JDS MLAs to contest the bypolls necessitated by their disqualification. The bench, however, did not take action on a petition filed in the high court by Karnataka Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao which challenged suspension of model code of conduct before the bypolls.

After EC declared bypolls, the disqualified MLAs had moved SC challenging the Speaker’s decision to make them ineligible to contest them. Appearing for the disqualified MLAs, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi argued they had the right to resign from the party and membership of House if they had differences with the party.


“The Speaker was bound to accept resignations as long as they were voluntary. Their rights cannot be defeated by disqualifying them till the end of tenure of the current assembly,” he contended. The anti-defection provision meant ineligibility till bypolls, not entire tenure of the assembly, he argued.

Also appearing for the disqualified MLAs, senior advocate A Sundaram contended that activities of the MLAs after resignations cannot be used for disqualification. “You have blacklisted me for taking part in politics. It is not mere disqualification but a punishment,” he argued.