Will tell court before decision on lifting President's rule in Uttarakhand: Centre

The court was dealing with an interim application of ex-CM Harish Rawat in which it was apprehended that the Central rule may be lifted to facilitate installation of a BJP-led govt in the state.

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday gave an undertaking in the Uttarakhand High Court that it will come to it before any decision is taken to lift the President's rule in the state after Congress made a strong pitch for the first right to form the government.

"I will inform the court before any decision is taken to revoke the Presidential Rule," Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Centre, told the High Court.

The court was dealing with an interim application of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat in which it was apprehended that the Central rule may be lifted to facilitate installation of a BJP-led government in the state.

In his plea, Rawat has sought a direction to the Governor that he should be asked to form the government first if any decision to revoke the Presidential Rule is taken by the Centre during the pendency of his main petition.

The ousted CM has also apprehended that the Centre with the "connivance" of the state BJP may revoke the Presidential Rule during the pendency of the case and deny "rightful opportunity" to him to form the government making his petition infructuous.

At the outset, senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the former CM, told the bench comprising Chief Justice K M Joseph and V K Bisht that the present petition against the imposition of President's rule may be rendered infructous if the Centre suddenly decides to revoke the Presidential Rule and invite state BJP to form the government.

"We will have to protect the right of the litigant," the bench observed initially.

During the proceedings in the forenoon, the Attorney General objected to the oral submission of Singhvi, saying the court cannot pass any order to stop the political process and, moreover, such kind of oral submissions should not be entertained.