Centre to move SC against order quashing Prez Rule in Uttarakhand

The Uttarakhand high court on Thursday quashed President’s rule in the state, restoring the Congress government of Harish Rawat and asking it to prove its majority in the assembly on April 29.

The Centre will on Friday move the Supreme Court against the Uttarakhand high court’s order quashing President’s rule in the state.

Supreme Court of India. Centre will move the SC against the Uttarakhand HC order quashing President’s Rule in the state.(HT Photo)

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi said the Centre’s petition against the high court’s order reviving of the Harish Rawat-led Congress government would be mentioned for an urgent hearing before a bench headed by chief justice TS Thakur on Friday.

In a counter move, chief minister Rawat filed a caveat in the apex court to ensure that no order is passed without giving him a hearing.

Earlier in the day, the Uttarakhand high court quashed President’s rule in the state, restoring the Congress government of Harish Rawat and asking it to prove its majority in the assembly on April 29.

Sources said a copy of the detailed order of the HC was unlikely to be available immediately.

But terming the situation arising out of the HC order as “extra-ordinary”, sources said the Centre would move the SC against the HC verdict on the basis of the operating part that was pronounced at Nainital.

April 21: Action Day

• 2:00 pm

  HC revokes President’s rule after Centre fails to commit that it will not revoke its rule for a week
  
  

• 3:00 pm

  BJP leaders Satpal Maharaj and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari rush back to Dehradun to take stock of the meeting
  
  

• 5:50 pm

  Chief minister Harish Rawat meets governor K K Paul and calls a cabinet meeting to review decisions taken during 25 days of the President’s rule
  
  

• 6:00 pm

  BJP top brass including finance minister Arun Jaitley and home minister Rajnath Singh meets at party president Amit Shah’s house
  
  

• 7:30 pm

  Attorney general Mukul Rohatgi says that the Centre will challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court

The Centre brought the state under central rule on March 27, citing “governance breakdown” after nine Congress lawmakers rebelled against Rawat. The deposed chief minister had challenged in court the Centre’s decision which came just a day before he was to prove his strength in the assembly.

A division bench of the high court said at the end of four days of hearing that they did not find enough material to justify the imposition of President’s rule.

Uttarakhand crisis: Full coverage