Supreme Court refuses to entertain Congress’ plea against Speaker’s decision on its 8 MLAs who defected to BJP

Fri Dec 13 07:16:29 UTC 2024: ## Supreme Court Rejects Congress Plea on Goa MLA Defections

**New Delhi, December 13, 2024** – The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea challenging the Goa Assembly Speaker’s decision to reject a disqualification petition against eight Congress MLAs who defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The petition, filed by former Goa Congress chief Girish Chodankar, sought to overturn Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar’s November 1st ruling. Tawadkar had dismissed the petition, arguing that MLAs do not face disqualification if their original party merges with another. The eight MLAs – Digambar Kamat, Aleixo Sequeira, Sankalp Amonkar, Michael Lobo, Delilah Lobo, Kedar Naik, Rudolf Fernandes, and Rajesh Faldesai – joined the BJP following the merger.

The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar, directed Chodankar to challenge the Speaker’s decision in the Goa Bench of the Bombay High Court.