On Friday, dissident Congress leader Kalikho Pul was sworn in as the 9th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh. He received support of rebel Congress MLAs, along with Independents & BJP MLAs who gave outside support.
Earlier, Supreme Court had lifted the ‘status quo’ order in Arunachal Pradesh, which paved the way for formation of a new Government in the state. A bench comprising Justices J.S. Khehar, Dipak Misra, Madan B. Lokur, P.C. Ghose and N.V. Ramana found no fault in Guwahati High Court’s order on January 7th, which suspended the disqualification of 14 Congress MLAs, including deputy speaker Kalikho Pul.
Justice Khehar said, “Two things are very clear. The summons (for disqualification) were not served and notice for removal was not served. For an interim order to continue once you’ve not served parties, that can’t be done”, adding, “Fact of the matter is that service was not effected. This injunction cannot go one,”
Thus, after this landmark judgment, center cannot revoke President’s rule in Arunachal Pradesh, which means that a new Government can be easily formed. Based on cabinet’s recommendation, President Pranab Mukherjee had imposed President rule in Arunachal Pradesh on January 26th.
India Legal had earlier predicted this judgment regarding President’s rule in the state and formation of a new Government. While discussing the President’s Rule and usage of Article 356 on APN News, the panel comprising political and legal experts had stated that the right course of democratic action is formation of a new Government.