Tuesday, January 3 2006 18:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: In a move that could trigger a confrontation between Parliament and Judiciary, two of the 11 expelled MPs caught taking bribes on camera in the 'Operation Duryodhan' sting operation filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court challenging their expulsion from Parliament.

In their petition filed through counsel Nawal Kishore Jha, the expelled MPs Narendra Kumar Kushwar (Mirzapur, UP) and Manoj Kumar (Palmur, RJD) wanted the court to set aside the order of the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and restore their membership.

The petition contended that the action of Parliament to expel them was 'unconstitutional, undemocratic and arbitrary', as the principles of natural justice were not observed.

It was claimed that the MPs were not provided with any opportunity to present their defence and the entire action smacked of arbitrariness.

They also argued that the Pawan Bansal Committee had no locus standngi to conduct the enquiry and recommend action against the MPS.