E-Paper
SC reserves verdict on Sadique plea against disqualification
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the petition of Bhadaur legislator Mohammad Sadique that challenges his disqualification from the Punjab assembly by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
The Supreme Court has reserved its judgment on the petition of Bhadaur legislator Mohammad Sadique that challenges his disqualification from the Punjab assembly by the Punjab and Haryana high court.
His counsel, Supreme Court senior advocate Atul Nanda, has said the judgment was reserved on Wednesday after the conclusion of arguments by all parties. Last July, acting on his petition, the apex court had stayed the high court order of disqualifying Sadique as MLA. He was also allowed to participate in the Vidhan Sabha proceedings but restrained from participating in voting in the House.
The high court had disqualified Sadique on April 7, based on a 2012 petition from Akali candidate Darbara Singh Guru, who had challenged the entertainer’s election. Guru had pleaded that being a Muslim, Sadique was not qualified to contest the election from a constituency reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates.
The high court had set aside Sadique’s election, holding that at the time of polling, he was a Muslim and not competent to contest from a seat reserved for another category. Submitting that the high court had “overlooked material facts”, Sadique had moved the Supreme Court in May.
