The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court's verdict quashing the imposition of President’s Rule in the state till April 27. A bench comprising Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh asked Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi to provide an undertaking that the Centre will not revoke President's Rule till the next date of hearing. The bench also asked the Uttarakhand High Court to provide a copy of its judgement to the parties involved by April 26, reported PTI.

This was after the Centre said that the High Court judgement had resulted in a “serious miscarriage of justice” and that it deserved to be quashed by the Supreme Court. “Gross injustice and irreparable loss is likely to be caused to the petitioner [central government] if the high court’s impugned judgement is not stayed,” it added.

Article 356 of the Constitution, according to which the president can assume the functions of the state government as well as the governor’s executive powers, had been imposed contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the High Court bench had said in its ruling.

AG Rohatgi had sought an urgent listing of the petition, in which the Centre said the High Court’s power of judicial review is limited. President’s Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand by the central government in March because of a “breakdown of governance”. The order came less than a fortnight after a political crisis triggered by a rebellion in the ruling Congress party.