The lawyer of 17 rebel lawmakers sought a speedy hearing in the matter. (File)
The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a petition filed by the rebel lawmakers of AIADMK, who sought transfer of their disqualification case from the Madras High Court. The top court said it would hear the petition on Wednesday.
Seventeen disqualified lawmakers of the ruling AIADMK moved the top court after Madras High Court on June 14 gave a split verdict on their disqualification. While the case was referred to a third judge, no time frame was given for the verdict.
Anticipating a delay in the high court verdict, the lawyer of 17 disqualified lawmakers asked the for a speedy hearing and referred to the stay on elections in the assembly constituencies.
Eighteen lawmakers were disqualified by the state assembly speaker P Dhanapal in September, just before a trust vote. One of them, Thanga Tamilselvan, did not move the top court.
While delivering the verdict,
Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice Indira Banerjee said Speaker P Dhanapal's decision last to disqualify the legislators was reasonable, but Justice M Sundar believed it violated the law so should be cancelled.
The High Court had earlier kept the floor test on hold and directed that the seats of the 18 legislators be kept vacant until its decision.
The ruling AIADMK has 116 lawmakers, excluding the Speaker, in the 234-member assembly, one short of the majority mark.
If the disqualification is cancelled, the state government faces collapse. The rebel lawmakers are loyal to sidelined party chief VK Sasikala and her nephew TTV Dhinakaran, who was elected recently as an independent lawmaker from RK Nagar - the constituency left vacant after former chief minister J Jayalalithaa's death in 2016.