Bengaluru: Mr K.B. Koliwad before laying down office on Friday, has disposed of the disqualification petition filed by the JD (S) against seven of its MLAs who later crossed over to the Congress.
Unlike the MLAs, the Speaker of the Assembly continues to hold office even if he loses the Assembly election, till the Protem speaker is appointed.
So, Mr Koliwad the Speaker of the fourteenth Assembly, who lost the Assembly election from Ranebennur, dismissed the petition filed by the JD (S).
In 2016, the seven JD (S) MLAs had violated the party whip to cast their votes for a Congress candidate contesting the Rajya Sabha elections. The JD (S) then moved the Speaker seeking disqualification of seven of its members, N. Cheluvarayaswamy, Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda, H.C. Balakrishna, Iqbal Ahmed Ansari, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Bheema Naik and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy.
Of the seven, B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan, Bheema Naik and Akhanda Srinivas Murthy won the May 12 polls.
To neutralise any possibility of the Protem Speaker playing mischief with the petition, Mr Koliwad dismissed the petition, said sources.
