The Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday quashed the President’s Rule in the state while ordering floor test in the Assembly on 29 April.
The High Court while quashing the President’s rule said that the “Centre acted in blatant falsehood” and also accused the Uttarakhand Speaker of “double standards” and added that Article 356 was imposed in Uttarakhand contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
The High Court’s order came on a plea filed by ousted Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat who had challenged this imposition. The High Court had earlier criticised the Centre for imposing President’s Rule a day before a floor test was to be held in the Assembly.
The High Court on Wednesday had stated that the President of India is not infallible and he, too, can go wrong. Therefore, the President’s decision is open to judicial scrutiny. Uttarakhand had plunged into a political crisis when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for support.
In the 70-member Assembly, the Congress has 36 legislators, including the nine rebels. The BJP has 28. The other six members, from smaller parties, are said to support the Congress.