SC adjourns hearing to Wednesday after Karnataka Speaker says trust vote likely today

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 23

The Supreme Court on Tuesday adjourned for a day the hearing on the petition filed by two independent MLAs from Karnataka seeking immediate floor test after Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar submitted that voting of trust motion was likely to be held by Tuesday evening.

When their petition came up for hearing before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi complained that the Speaker was deliberately delaying the entire process, despite having made a statement that it would be held by 6 pm on Monday.

On behalf of the Speaker, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi said the discussion on trust vote was on and there were 10-15 MLAs left to speak. He expressed the hope that the entire process would be over by Tuesday evening.

Taking note of Singhvi’s submissions made on behalf of the Speaker that voting on the trust motion moved by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy was likely to be over by evening, the Bench adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.

The Kumaraswamy-led JD(S)-Congress government in Karnataka has been facing a political crisis since July 6 when 10 Congress and three JD(S) MLAs submitted their resignation to the speaker's office Another Congress MLA R Roshan Baig submitted his resignation to the speaker on July 9.

After the number of rebel MLAs resigning from the assembly went up to 15, the Congress-JD(S) coalition’s tally has been reduced to 102. The Opposition BJP has claimed to have the support of 107 MLAs, including the two Independent legislators who have approached the SC for immediate trust vote.