PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa will on Friday continue hearing arguments in the disqualification matter against 10 MLAs who defected during the current term.
The final hearing into the plea by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Girish Chodankar, against the 10 Congress MLAs who had defected commenced last week. The arguments continued on Wednesday with the matter to be taken up again on Friday for further arguments.
The petitioner has stated that the interpretation given by the Speaker in his impugned disqualification order is contrary to the aims and objectives of the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India, that is, prevention of defection and it defeats the very purpose the Schedule which was enacted in the year 1985 and thereafter strengthened by amendment in the year 2003.
The 10 MLAs, the submission states, in their response to the disqualification petition did not plead that there was a merger of original political party and therefore there was no question of any valid merger in terms of para 4 of Tenth schedule of the Constitution.
