The Gauhati High Court on Thursday stayed the decisions of a group of Arunachal Pradesh MLAs to oust Assembly Speaker Nabam Rebia in a makeshift session the previous day. A rebel group of Congress MLAs had joined BJP legislators to oust Rebia amid severe criticism and walkouts by 27 members of the House. Rebia and the state’s Chief Minister Nabam Tuki had called the move “illegal and unconstitutional”, as it had taken place outside the House in a session presided over by Deputy Speaker T Norbu Thongdok.

The court order came after Rebia filed a writ petition challenging a notice by the state’s Gorvenor Jyoti Prasad Rajkhowa, which had brought forward this year's Assembly session from the scheduled January 24 to December 16. The court declared this decision in violation of Articles 174 and 175 of the Constitution, which relate to the rights of the Governor to send messages to the House. The bench also ruled that all decisions that were taken at Wednesday’s makeshift session must be kept in abeyance.

Congress-led government in the state has been locked in a battle with Rajkhowa, claiming he is trying to destabilise their leadership in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The party repeatedly disrupted the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, protesting against the political crisis in the state. On Wednesday, a group of Congress leaders, including party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, led a delegation to President Pranab Mukherjee and lodged a protest against the governor.