Jharkhand High Court today rejected Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) plea to restrict voting rights of six MLAs during tomorrow's Rajya Sabha bypoll as they had joined BJP after winning on JVM symbol in the December Assembly elections.
Rejecting the plea, Justice S Chandrashekhar posted the JVM writ on disqualification of MLAs for hearing after two weeks.
Former chief minister Babulal Marandi's JVM had filed the petition seeking to restrict the six MLAs from exercising their franchise in the RS bypoll as they left JVM and joined the BJP on the ground that it was contrary to the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
JVM had also filed a similar petition with Jharkhand Speaker Dinesh Oraon, who has scheduled to hold a court on July 3.
The party approached the high court after the speaker announced that the six MLAs would be eligible for voting in the RS elections.
Naveen Jaiswal (Hatia), Amar Kumar Bauri (Chandankiyari), Ganesh Ganju (Simeria), Alok Kumar Chourasia (Daltonganj), Randhir Kumar Singh (Sarath) and Janki Yadav (Barkatha) had joined BJP. Bauri and Singh were inducted in the Raghubar Das Cabinet.
BJP has fielded writer-politician M J Akbar, while Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has nominated its former minister Haji Hussain Ansari for the bypoll, which has been necessitated following the resignation of K D Singh.
