Sherman Ali Disqualification: Gauhati HC Issues Notice To Biswajit Daimary

The Gauhati High Court on Monday issued a notice to Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary over the disqualification of Congress MLA from Baghbar, Sherman Ali Ahmed. This was after senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri, Rakibul Hussain approached the court.

Hearing the matter today, which was originally filed by Rakibul Hussain on May 2, 2024, the high court ordered all parties including Speaker Daimary, Principal Secretary and Secretary of the Assam Assembly along with Sherman Ali Ahmed to file their affidavits on or before the next hearing. The court posted the matter to be heard on September 27.

Rakibul Hussain sought the disqualification of Sherman Ali Ahmed under the 10th Schedule of the Indian constitution following his suspension from Congress on grounds of repeatedly violating party discipline. He approached the court filing a civil writ petition numbered 4586/2024 after no action was taken by Speaker Biswajit Daimary in the stipulated time.

Notably, the Supreme Court had in January 2020 ordered that a Speaker must decide petitions over disqualification, stipulating a time frame of three months from the date of filing of such a petition.

In connection with the matter, the Gauhati High Court today also observed that ongoing proceedings should not prevent the Speaker from resolving a disqualification petition.

In May this year, the Congress requested the disqualification of suspended MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed from the Assam Assembly, submitting a 167-page complaint. They alleged Ahmed of campaigning against Congress candidates in the Lok Sabha elections, violating party rules. This was the party's second attempt to seek Ahmed's disqualification from Speaker Biswajit Daimary, after initially approaching the Speaker in 2022.

Congress deputy leader Rakibul Hussain, along with AICC general secretary Pritviraj Sathe, argued that Ahmed’s actions were grounds for immediate disqualification. They highlighted that similar cases led to swift action in the past. Ahmed, suspended from the party in October 2021 for disciplinary issues, was previously arrested for comments against an eviction drive.

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