SC to hear Rajasthan Assembly Speaker CP Joshi's plea against HC's reprieve to Sachin Pilot on July 23

Amid the ongoing political drama in Rajasthan, the Supreme Court (SC) will on Thursday (July 23) hear Assembly Speaker CP Joshi's petition challenging Rajasthan High Court order barring  him from conducting disqualification proceedings against Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress MLAs, till July 24 (Friday). The hearing is scheduled to start at 11 AM. The matter will be heard by a three-judge bench of Justice Arun Mishra, Justice Krishna Murari and Justice B R Gavai. 

Joshi has served disqualification notices on dissident Congress MLAs for remaining absent from two successive Congress Legislative Party meetings after Pilot raised a banner of revolt against the leadership of Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

In his plea, Joshi has sought an interim stay on the high court's July 21 order, saying it was SC's duty to ensure that all constitutional authorities exercise their jurisdiction within the boundaries and respect their "respective 'lakshman rekha' as envisaged by the Constitution itself".

Later on Wednesday, Pilot also approached the apex court and filed a caveat urging the SC to not pass any order on Joshi's petition before hearing the dissident MLAs.

Addressing a press conference , Joshi said he wanted the SC to avert a “constitutional crisis” in Rajasthan. “The Speaker has the right to disqualify MLAs. No one can interfere in the Speaker's decision,” he said, adding that whatever judgment the court has given, “I have respected till now. However, does this respect and acceptance mean that one authority overlaps the role of the other?”

"The proceedings under the Tenth Schedule (which deals with disqualification of lawmakers) before the Speaker are proceedings of the Legislature and as such cannot interfered with as repeatedly held by this Court as envisaged under Article 212 read with para 6(2) of the Tenth Schedule," Speaker Joshi mentioned in his plea.

Pilot camp had last Thursday (July 16) filed a petition in the High Court against the notices served on them by the Speaker on a Congress plea for their disqualification from the Assembly membership.

The rebels had argued in the court that "free speech" cannot be labelled as "anti-party activity" and that they can`t be served such notices when the Rajasthan Assembly is not in session.