Uttarakhand: Congress moves HC challenging ordinance on expenditure

NAINITAL: Congress today moved the Uttarakhand High Court challenging a central ordinance authorising expenditure in the state, which is under President's rule, as the party has contended that the Assembly had duly passed the Appropriation Bill on March 18.

A writ petition challenging promulgation of the ordinance was mentioned by senior Supreme Court lawyer and former Union minister Kapil Sibal before the division bench of the high court comprising Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bisht and the hearing was under way.

The Uttarakhand Appropriation (Vote on Account) Ordinance, 2016 was promulgated by the President yesterday.

The ordinance is to provide for withdrawal of certain sums from and out of the Consolidated Fund of the State of Uttarakhand for the services of a part of the financial year 2016-17, it said.