GG News Bureau
Panaji, 17th Jan. The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Thursday upheld the decision of the state assembly speaker, Ramesh Tawadkar, to not disqualify eight Congress MLAs who joined the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in September 2022. The court dismissed a petition challenging Tawadkar’s ruling on the matter.
In November 2022, Tawadkar had rejected a disqualification petition filed by former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president, Girish Chodankar, against MLAs Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rudolf Fernandes, and Rajesh Faldesai. Chodankar had alleged that these lawmakers violated anti-defection laws by switching allegiances to the BJP.
Chodankar moved the High Court on January 6, 2025, seeking to overturn the speaker’s decision. However, a division bench of Justices Makarand Karnik and Nivedita Mehta dismissed the petition on Thursday, affirming Tawadkar’s decision to allow the MLAs to retain their seats.
Advocate Abhijit Gosavi, representing Chodankar, had sought the disposal of the matter, citing previous rulings in similar cases. Gosavi also mentioned that an appeal was planned for the Supreme Court. State Advocate General Devidas Pangam opposed this, arguing that several other related petitions were still pending before the High Court.
The shift of the eight Congress MLAs bolstered the BJP’s strength in the 40-member Goa Assembly, increasing their tally to 28.
Comments are closed.