Two independent Karnataka MLAs withdraw plea

Two Karnataka independent MLAs -- R. Shankar and H. Nagesh -- on Thursday withdraw their plea from the Supreme Court seeking direction to the Assembly Speaker to conduct a floor test in the House immediately.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi allowed his plea but expressed displeasure as senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who was representing the MLAs, could not appear in the court.

The court said that when there was a matter of urgent listing, everyone manages to come.

The bench on Wednesday said it would only pass orders in the presence of the counsels of the two parties, senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Rohatgi and Singhvi were not present for the hearing on Wednesday.

However, Singhvi appeared in the court on Thursday and said that he was not opposing the withdrawal of petition filed by the two independent MLAs.

Claiming they had withdrawn support to the state's ruling Congress-Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) coalition government, the two MLAs had asked the court to direct the Speaker to conduct a floor test in the House immediately.

The bench had agreed to hear their plea on Tuesday after Singhvi, who is representing Karnataka Speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, assured the court that the floor test might take place by the end of the day.

The 14-month-old Congress-JD-S coalition government in Karnataka fell on Tuesday evening after it failed to prove a majority in a floor test in the Assembly. IANS