Madhya Pradesh High Court Reminds MP Speaker To Follow Supreme Court’s 90-Day Rule In MLA Nirmala Sapre's Defection Case

Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): The High Court principal seat on Wednesday took note of the delay in decision by the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly Speaker on a defection case against MLA Nirmala Sapre, and observed that such matters must be decided within 90 days as per a Supreme Court order.

The defection case, filed by Leader of Opposition Umang Singhar against Sapre, is pending before the Assembly Speaker.

During the previous hearing on April 20, the court was informed that the Speaker had adjourned the matter to April 22. Advocate General Prashant Singh submitted that the case is currently undergoing a formal hearing process before the Speaker and that verification of the evidence submitted by Singhar is still underway.

A division bench of Chief Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva and Justice Vinay Saraf noted that the Supreme Court has stipulated a 90-day time limit for delivering a verdict in defection cases. The Chief Justice directed the Advocate General to bring the Supreme Court guidelines to the Speaker s attention.

Counsel for the petitioner, Vibhor Khandelwal, said the 90-day time limit set by the Supreme Court must be strictly adhered to, but no decision has been taken in the present case so far.