SC notice to EC, Goa on Congress plea to disqualify minister

New Delhi, Feb 9 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the Election Commission, the Goa government and Goa Assembly Speaker on a plea filed by the Congress seeking disqualification of state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane.

A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud also sought response from the poll panel EC, Goa government and Speaker and Rane within six weeks.

Filing the petition, the Congress contended that Rane was elected to the assembly on its ticket and resigned before the Manohar Parrikar government proved its majority on the floor of the Assembly on March 17, 2017, and the Speaker wrongly accepted his resignation before the test.

Rane later got re-elected as a BJP MLA.

The Congress asked if the Speaker can accept the resignation of an MLA, who has incurred a disqualification by an act of defiance of a whip without conducting an inquiry as contemplated under the proviso to Article 190(3) (b) of the Constitution.

The party has approached the apex court challenging the October 11 last year order of the Bombay High Court of Goa bench that dismissed its disqualification petition filed against Rane, on the grounds that a disqualification petition was already filed before the assembly Speaker.

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