Guwahati, Jan 3: Assam Legislative Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary has rejected the disqualification petition against suspended Congress MLA Sherman Ali Ahmed from the Baghbar constituency. The petition was filed by then Assam Congress Legislature Party (ACLP) deputy leader and current Dhubri MP, Rakibul Hussain, alleging anti-party activities by Ahmed during the last Lok Sabha elections.
Hussain’s petition sought Ahmed’s disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution of India and the Members of the Assam Legislative Assembly (Disqualification on the Ground of Defection) Rules, 1986. He accused Sherman Ali of attending public meetings organized by other parties and urging voters not to support Congress candidates. Hussain supported his claims with media statements and video footage submitted via a pen drive.
Sherman Ali Ahmed was suspended from the Congress Party on October 4, 2021, for repeated violations of party rules and its constitution.
In the last Lok Sabha election, Ahmed campaigned for CPI(M) candidate Manoranjan Talukdar in Barpeta constituency, urged the people to vote for AIUDF supremo Maulana Badaruddin Ajmal in Dhubri and AIUDF candidate Aminul Islam in Nagaon.
A separate petition on similar grounds, filed by CLP leader Debabrata Saikia, remains under consideration by the Speaker.
A similar petition was also filed by CLP leader Debabrata Saikia, which was pending before the Speaker.
In his response, Sherman Ali Ahmed maintained that he had not resigned from Congress membership and urged the Speaker to reject the petition.
Ahmed also pointed out that Rakibul Hussain, now a Lok Sabha MP from Dhubri, no longer holds the position of MLA, casting further doubt on the validity of the petition.
In his ruling, Speaker Daimary stated that the petitioner admitted Ahmed had neither voluntarily resigned from the Congress party nor been expelled by it.
He noted that the pendrive submitted as evidence contained only news articles and lacked the original news footage referenced in the petition.
“No certificate under Section 65B of the Indian Evidence Act (authentication of electronic records) was provided to validate the electronic evidence,” the Speaker observed.
“The news articles themselves cannot be taken as indisputable truth without proper supporting evidence,” he said in the ruling.
“Based on such materials, which include electronic records subjected to potential editing, an MLA cannot be disqualified,” Daimary remarked.
The Speaker further highlighted that the Congress party itself had not pursued sufficient disciplinary action under its constitution. “It cannot be assumed that the party stands against the MLA or has officially condemned his actions,” Daimary observed.
Daimary concluded that the petitioner failed to establish a valid case for disqualification. “In the facts and circumstances of the case and in law, I do not find that Sherman Ali Ahmed has committed any act falling within the purview of the Tenth Schedule,” he stated. Consequently, the disqualification petition was rejected.
