Uttarakhand: HC warns Centre not to provoke it over President’s Rule

Nainital: Adding to Centre’s discomfiture, the Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday issued a veiled warning, and said it hopes it will not provoke the Court by revoking the President’s Rule imposed in the state till a verdict is delivered on the petition challenging its imposition. Earlier in the day, the court observed that the legitimacy of the President’s decision to suspend the Assembly is subject to judicial review as even he can go wrong. “We hope they will not provoke us,” a bench of Chief Justice K M Joseph and Justice V K Bist said after senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi raised the apprehension that President’s Rule might be revoked before verdict is pronounced or even reserved. [caption id=“attachment_2683140” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. CNN News18[/caption] Singhvi, who appeared for former Chief Minister Harish Rawat in his plea challenging President’s Rule, expressed the fear after the Centre said that the Attorney General’s statement of April 7, that nothing with regard to 356 will be done till April 17, has “expired”. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Tushar Mehta did not confirm whether any decision with regard to revocation of President’s Rule has been taken by the Centre. Singhvi said President Rule should not be lifted before judgement is reserved or pronounced and the “opposition” should not be invited to form a government as this would render the plea infructuous. He also said that the Centre cannot resort to such tactics to force the court to deliver a verdict quickly.