Chennai: The Supreme Court has refused to grant interim stay on the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court order that clipped the powers of Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi.
Rejecting her appeal on the order of the High Court that said the powers of the elected government were above that of the Lt Governor, the court said there was no need to grant an interim stay.
It also stayed the implementation of the decisions of the Cabinet of the Puducherry government for 10 days from 7 June.
A Congress MLA had gone to court, contesting the special powers granted by the Central government to Bedi, in her capacity as Lt Governor. In a setback to Bedi, the Madurai bench held that she cannot have overriding powers over the elected government.
The Union Home Ministry and Bedi had gone on appeal to the Supreme Court against this verdict. After hearing their arguments, the Supreme Court had adjourned the case.
When it was taken up today, it refused to pass interim orders staying the High Court order and, at the same time, said the Cabinet decisions of the Puducherry government cannot be implemented for 10 days from 7 June.
The bench, headed by Justice R M Sharma, also asked Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy to be impleaded in the case.