Merger and disqualification: Bombay high court asks centre to reply on shield for MLAs

Bombay high court on Wednesday gave six weeks’ time to the central government to file its reply to public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the validity of paragraph four of the 10th schedule of the Constitution that protects members of the House from disqualification on a merger. The HC bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Arif Doctor issued notice to the Attorney General for India, R Venkatramani, to appear in the matter, noting the challenge raised was to the Constitutional provision that dealt with an exception to disqualification of members.