SC adjourns hearing on BSP case till May 5

New Delhi, Apr 24 (UNI) The Supreme Court today adjourned till May five the hearing of the petition of five MLAs of BSP breakaway group seeking to stay the proceedings initiated by the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker for their disqualification from the Assembly on the complaint of breakaway group leader Yogender Parshad Singh.

A bench headed by Mr Justice K G Balakrishanan refused to grant interim stay to the petitioners who had resigned from the Samajwadi Party (SP) headed by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav following Allahabad High Court judgment dated February 28, 2006 holding their defection from the BSP in September 2003 to enable the SP cobble up a majority to form a government in the state as illegal.

All the 42 MLAs who defected from the BSP to SP were made ministers. Of them five have resigned.

When the court was informed that the Speaker was going to disqualify the petitioners today itself, the court responded by saying, ''Don't worry''.

The breakaway group was permitted to act as independent group of Bahujan Loktantrik Dal (BLD) by the apex court to preserve their political status.

The disqualification of five MLAs is being sought on the plea that their strength was less than one third of the total strength of the breakaway group which at present is 32.

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