SC judge Justice M M Shantanagoudar recuses from hearing plea of disqualified Karnataka MLAs

Supreme Court judge Justice M M Shantanagoudar Tuesday recused himself from hearing petitions filed by 17 disqualified MLAs of Karnataka challenging the decision of the then Speaker to disqualify them from the Assembly. "In this matter, I am not participating" Justice Shantanagoudar, who was part of a three-judge bench headed by Justice N V Ramana, said at the outset.

The bench has now posted the matter for hearing on September 23. The then Assembly speaker, K R Ramesh Kumar, had disqualified 17 MLAs which eventually led to the fall of the JD (S)-Congress coalition government headed by then chief minister H D Kumaraswamy.

Kumaraswamy had resigned as the chief minister after losing the trust vote which paved the way for the BJP-led government in Karnataka under incumbent Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa.