HC disposes off the petition by Girish Chodankar on disqualification matter
Panaji: Goa Bench of Bombay High Court on Tuesday disposed off the petition filed by former Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar seeking directions to the Speaker of Legislative assembly to dispose off the disqualification petitions filed by in a time bound manner.
Abhijit Gosavi, lawyer representing Chodankar said that in an order pronounced on Tuesday afternoon, the division bench of the High Court stated that since the Speaker of Goa Legislative Assembly Ramesh Tawadkar has given in an affidavit that he would decide on the petition as fast as possible, the Bench refused to give any directions in the petition.
Gosavi said that the major contention of the petition was that the HC should give directions to the Speaker to decide on the disqualification petitions filed by Chodankar against eight Congress MLAs who shifted to BJP in the year 2022.
He said that the Speaker in his submission before the division bench had said that the High Court cannot direct him to decide the petition in a time bound manner.
Gosavi said that the HC on Tuesday held that the speaker acts as a tribunal and therefore the HC can direct the speaker to decide the petition and that has to be decided within reasonable time.
He said that in the present case the HC has held that since on the affidavit of the Speaker has stated that he in the process of deciding on the disqualification petition filed by Goa Pradesh Congress Committee President Amit Patkar against MLAs they are not inclined to give any order to the Speaker.
Gosavi said that while Speaker refused to give any outer limit to decide the petition, it has said that whatever statement made by the speaker in the affidavit would be adhered to.
