Shimla, April 25 (UNI) The Himachal Pradesh High Court Thursday adjourned hearing on a writ petition filled by three Independent MLAs against Himachal Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania for not accepting their resignation.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao and Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua deferred the matter till April 30.
The matter was listed for hearing on Wednesday but the court was adjourned before it could come up for hearing.
Appearing remotely for the Speaker, senior counsel Kapil Sibal argued the matter on Thursday. A reply was also filed on behalf of the Speaker.
The court also heard the argument of both parties. The arguments will resume on April 30.
The three Independent members Hoshiyar Singh, Ashish Sharma and KL Thakur knocked on the court's door on April 1 seeking relief that the Speaker accept their resignation.
The petitioners argued that Pathania could not withhold their resignation indefinitely.
Singh and Sharma from Hamirpur and Thakur from Nalagarh tendered resignation from the Vidhan Sabha on March 22 seeking fresh election.
Pathania did not accept their resignation and instead issued notice to them on a complaint by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan and Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi who accused the three of tendering resignation under BJP's allure.
The three Independents supported the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government after the state elections but cross voted along with several Congress MLAs during the Rajya Sabha elections on February 27, before joining the BJP on March 24.
UNI ML ING