The Congress party has urged the Supreme Court for early hearing on the disqualification petition of 10 Congress MLAs for defection to the ruling BJP, before September 4.
The disqualification petitions filed against the ten MLAs by the Congress President Girish Chodankar was supposed to come up for hearing before the Apex Court on August 28. However, the same was not listed for the day.
Advocate Sahil Tagotra, in an application to the Registrar, Supreme Court, today, said that the matter is not listed in any cause list published till September 2 and further, no tentative date of listing is being reflected in the case status.
The petitioner has requested that the matter be listed before September 4.
“Since the main issue in the Writ Petition itself concerns inordinate delay by the Respondent (Speaker Goa Legislative Assembly), any additional delay in listing of the matter, despite specific directions of the Court to list the same, will irreversibly prejudice the petitioner’s case,” the application stated.
The Supreme Court through an order on August 11 had granted two weeks time to Speaker to submit additional affidavit in the matter, after the Respondent cited COVID-19 situation for the delay.
“More than two weeks have elapsed since the earlier order was passed. Pleadings are already completed in the matter. Therefore, in compliance with the directions passed by the Court in its order dated August 11, the Writ Petition ought to have been listed for hearing on ore around August 26,” the application added.
The Speaker Rajesh Patnekar is currently admitted in Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) for cardiac related ailment.