Raj High Court Issues Notices to Congress Leaders in MLA Resignation Case

Jaipur- The Rajasthan High Court on Monday issued notices to six Congress leaders, including former minister Shanti Dhariwal, in connection with the resignations submitted by Congress MLAs during the tenure of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The notices were issued following a PIL filed by BJP leader Rajendra Rathore.

On September 25, 2022, 81 Congress MLAs submitted their resignations to the then Speaker of the Assembly, C.P. Joshi, amidst speculation of a change in leadership by the Congress High Command. Rathore's PIL alleges that these resignations were not voluntary and that the Speaker did not verify the voluntariness of the resignations as required.

The PIL names six MLAs – Mahesh Joshi, Ramlal Jat, Rafiq Khan, Shanti Dhariwal, Mahendra Chaudhary, and Sanyam Lodha – who submitted the resignations on behalf of the 75 MLAs. Rathore questioned how these six MLAs obtained the resignations of the remaining 75 MLAs.

The Assembly Secretary, in a reply submitted to the court on January 16, 2023, confirmed that 81 MLAs had resigned and later withdrew their resignations, stating they were not voluntary. The court has now given the six Congress leaders a timeframe to respond to the notices.