Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court, on Monday, passed an interim order incurring disqualification of MLC A H Vishwanath as minister till the expiry of the term of the Legislative Council in May 2021.
Meanwhile, two other nominees- R Shankar and MTB Nagaraj have qualified.
The divisional bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Vishwajith Shetty, while hearing the petition, said, “It is not prima facie established that R Shankar and MTB Nagaraj have been disqualified under Articles 164 (1)(b) and 361 (B). We hold that A H Vishwanath ex-facie attracts disqualification under Articles 164 (1)(b) and 361 (B).”
Vishwanath was not elected to the Legislative Council but was nominated, while the other two were elected. Therefore, Vishwanath cannot become a minister, while the others are qualified.