MP LoP Umang Singhar said Congress will move the Supreme Court after the High Court refused to expedite the disqualification of Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre. The HC dismissed the plea, noting a lack of documents proving her switch from Congress to BJP.
Congress to Approach Supreme Court
Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition (LoP), Umang Singhar on Friday said the party would approach the Supreme Court after the High Court declined to expeditiously decide the disqualification of Bina MLA Nirmala Sapre from the legislative assembly.
"As per our prayer and the Supreme Court's guideline, the speaker had to make a decision within 90 days. But we don't know what led to the HC decision. We will further move to the Supreme Court," Singhar told ANI.
High Court Dismisses Plea
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Pradeep Mittal on Thursday dismissed writ petitions filed by LoP Singhar seeking a direction to the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly to expeditiously decide the disqualification petition pending against Bina MLA Sapre.
The bench noted that Sapre had denied allegations that she had resigned from the Congress or joined the BJP. Additionally, no documents had been placed on record to establish that Sapre had been expelled from the Congress or had been granted membership of the BJP.
Arguments and Proceedings
Advocate General Prashant Singh stated Singhar filed a petition on June 30, 2024 before the Speaker, seeking the disqualification of Sapre from the legislative assembly. Sapre appeared, sought time to file a response and filed her reply on October 9, 2024, refuting the allegations made against her about resignation from the Congress or joining the BJP.
Thereafter, the comments of the state presidents of BJP and Congress were sought. Along with this, LoP Singhar also appeared before the Speaker and recorded his statement on February 10 this year. As per the reply, the proceedings are going on, the Advocate General said.
Sapre's advocate, Sanjay Agrawal stated that she has neither resigned from the Congress membership nor joined the BJP. The allegations are baseless and unnecessarily, she is being dragged into the litigation.
On the other hand, Singhar's counsel submitted that the Supreme Court has held that three months' time is a reasonable time to decide such an application and sought a simple direction to the Speaker to decide the pending application as early as possible.
Court's Observation on Dismissal
The court, however, observed, "No documents have been filed to show that Sapre has been expelled from INC, and she has been given membership by the BJP. In the absence of these crucial documents and the statement made by counsel appearing for Sapre, we do not find any urgency in this matter. The proceedings are going on, and there is substantial development in it. In view of the categorical statement made by Sapre, and in the absence of any urgency in this matter, the High Court should not issue directions or a writ to the Speaker to decide the application expeditiously. Accordingly, these petitions are dismissed."
Background of the Controversy
Notably, Nirmala Sapre had contested the assembly election from the Bina constituency in 2023 on a Congress symbol and won the election. Later, she switched sides to BJP during a public meeting before chief minister Mohan Yadav in Sagar in May 2024 during the lok sabha elections. Nonetheless, Sapre has not been formally granted BJP membership, despite repeatedly being seen at the party's office. She continued to hold her position as a Congress MLA, following which Leader of Opposition Singhar filed a petition seeking the disqualification of Sapre from the legislative assembly.
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