Karnataka Crisis May Take New Turn Today as SC Set to Hear Rebel MLAs' Plea, BJP Keeps Close Watch

New Delhi: A crucial hearing on the Karnataka political crisis will take place on Tuesday in the Supreme Court which will examine "weighty" constitutional issues in the resignation and disqualification of 15 rebel MLAs of the ruling Congress-JD(S) coalition.

The apex court, which was dealing with the plea of 10 rebel MLAs on July 12, will now hear five more lawmakers who have sought identical relief that Karnataka Assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar accept their resignations as well.

The five MLAs, Anand Singh, K Sudhakar, N Nagaraj, Munirathna and Roshan Baig, mentioned their application before a bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Deepak Gupta Monday seeking impleadment as parties to the pending plea on which it was ordered that the speaker would not take any decision till Tuesday on the resignations and disqualifications.

The bench allowed senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi who mentioned the matter for all the 15 MLAs to amend the petition for expanding the grounds in support of their stand to resign. The apex court on July 12 had asked the speaker to maintain status quo on the issue.

The 10 rebel MLAs, on whose petition the status quo was ordered, were — Pratap Gouda Patil, Ramesh Jarkiholi, Byrati Basavaraj, B C Patil, S T Somashekhar, Arbail Shivaram Hebbar, Mahesh Kumathalli, K Gopalaiah, A H Vishwanath and Narayana Gowda.

The resignations of these MLAs has plunged the HD Kumaraswamy government in Karanataka into a crisis as it faces the risk of losing majority in the Assembly. Apart from the question of maintainability of the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution by the MLAs, the Supreme Court had said it needs to address as to whether the speaker is obligated to decide on the disqualification proceedings before accepting the resignation of legislators.

The counsel for the rebels MLAs had contended that the speaker has not decided on the resignation of the lawmakers to bind them with the party whip and disqualify them from the membership if they violate the whip on the floor of the House.(With PTI inputs)