Himachal cross voting: SC denied stay on disqualification of 6 Himachal MPs

Himachal Cross Voting: The Supreme Court has declined to halt the disqualification of MPs (six Congress legislators) from Himachal Pradesh, who were ousted for supporting the BJP candidate during the Rajya Sabha elections in the state. The apex court has also issued notices to the respondents regarding the legislators' plea challenging the decision of the Legislative Assembly Speaker.

Disqualification of MPs

"We are not going to stay the disqualification," stated the apex court.

A bench comprising justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta additionally denied the six MLAs permission to cast votes or participate in the House proceedings. The court has scheduled the matter for the second week of May.

The court was informed that the general election date has been declared, and the nomination filing date is set for May.

Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania had disqualified six Congress MLAs—Sudhir Sharma, Rajinder Rana, Davinder K Bhutto, Ravi Thakur, Chaitanya Sharma, and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal—under the anti-defection law on February 29.

Following the 2022 Assembly elections, the Congress held 40 seats, while the BJP had 25 in the 68-member state assembly, with the remaining three seats held by independents.

In the recent Rajya Sabha election, the BJP, with just 25 MLAs, secured nine additional votes. The voting ended in a 34-34 tie, with three Independents and six Congress MLAs crossing over to support the BJP candidate.

Ultimately, BJP candidate Harsh Mahajan emerged victorious in the contest, defeating Congress nominee Abhishek Singhvi after the result was determined by a draw of lots.

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