Team Herald
PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Friday issued notices to the Speaker and the then Pro-tem Speaker of the State Legislative assembly in the disqualification petition filed by the Congress seeking to restrain Health Minister Vishwajit Rane from contesting the by-polls.
Justice Mahesh Sonak Friday morning issued notices to Speaker Dr Pramod Sawant and Pro-tem Speaker Sidharth Kuncolienkar in the matter, where both are respondents. The notices are returnable by June 7, when the matter would be heard next.
Rane, a former Congress MLA, raised objections before the Court, stating that as per the Constitution, the petition should have been first been filed before the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly rather than before the High Court.
Congress has moved the High Court with a disqualification petition against Rane, seeking that Minister be disqualified for being chosen as Legislator of the State Assembly for next five years (2022) or till the House is dissolved.
They argued that in terms of Article 191 of the Constitution, he stood disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly for five years.
Congress further alleged that the Pro-tem Speaker was in collusion with Rane in accepting his resignation and claimed that Kuncolienkar could not have accepted Rane’s resignation because he had already incurred disqualification by abstaining from voting in terms of the whip. The party also said that Kuncolienkar had no power or authority or jurisdiction to accept the resignation.
