Nainital, Apr 21, Agencies: In a big setback for the Centre, the Uttarakhand high court on Thursday set aside President's rule that was imposed in the state on March 27.

The court added that the material considered for the imposition of President's rule is 'wanting.' It has called for a floor test in the Assembly on April 29.

The HC's order came on a plea by ousted chief minister Harish Rawat, who had challenged this imposition.

The high court had earlier criticized the Centre for imposing President's Rule a day before a floor test was to be held in the assembly.

The Uttarakhand High Court on Wednesday said that the president of India is not infallible and he, too, can go wrong. Therefore, the President's decision is open to judicial scrutiny.

"Absolute power can spoil anybody's mind. Even the president can go wrong and in such cases his decisions can be subjected to scrutiny. Indian courts have the power to scrutinize all orders," the court said.

Court are exceeding their constitutional mandate with such grave observations on the president and are setting dangerous precedents.
Mahendra Varma

Uttarakhand plunged into a political crisis when nine Congress legislators, including former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, whom Rawat replaced, revolted against the chief minister and turned to the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for support.

In the 70-member assembly, the Congress has 36 legislators, including the nine rebels. The BJP has 28. The other six members, from smaller parties, are said to support the Congress.