Thursday, September 29 2005 19:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Fresh clouds of uncertainty over Bihar elections gathered today (Sept 29, 2005) with the Supreme Court keeping open the option of reviving the assembly when it said it could pass a short order before October 18, the first phase of the polls, if it wants to quash the Presidential proclamation dissolving the House.

Reserving its order on a bunch of petitions challenging the dissolution of the assembly on the basis of a report by Governor Buta Singh, a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Justice Y K Sabharwal, said, "If we strike down the proclamation we may come with a short order before Oct 18".

The bench, also comprising Justice K G Balakrishnan, Justice B N Agarwal, Justice Ashok Bhan and Justice Arijit Pasayat, said considering the nature of controversy, there was also a possibility that it could not come up with a comprehensive judgement before the first phase of the poll.

"In that case, the final judgement will be pronounced later on", it said.

Meanwhile, former Attorney General Soli J Sorabjee, appearing for the MLAs of the dissolved Aseembly, asserted that no credible explanation at all has been offered by the Center for the 'indecent haste' with which the Governor sent the May 21 report that led to the dissolution of the House.

"The indecent haste in ordering dissolution clearly led to the inevitable conclusion that the object of dissolution was the oblique motive of preventing Janata Dal JD United (U) leader Nitish Kumar from even staking a claim to form Government," he said.