Bengaluru: Former Karnataka Speaker K R Ramesh Kumar on Wednesday expressed "sigh of relief" as the Supreme Court upheld his decision to disqualify 17 Congress- JD(S) MLAs.

"Supreme Court has upheld the disqualification- to that extent, it's a sigh of relief (for me). On the issue of tenure (of disqualification), Supreme Court has not agreed to my interpretation I will speak on that after going through the text of the judgement," Kumar said. Speaking to reporters here, he said, he has gone by the tenth schedule, keeping in mind the political and constitutional morality.

The apex court on Wednesday upheld the disqualification of 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs in Karnataka on orders of the Speaker but allowed them to contest the December 5 bypolls in the state.

The court struck down the portion of the order of Kumar by which the legislators were disqualified till the end of the 15th Karnataka Assembly in 2023.

In July this year, 17 MLAs were disqualified by Kumar based on the complaint of Congress and JD(S) after their absence and resignation from the assembly during the trust vote leading to the collapse of then H D Kumaraswamy-led government.

Kumaraswamy was leading a Congress-JDS coalition government.

Kumar had disqualified the legislators, ruling that those disqualified cease to be MLAs with immediate effect till the expiry of the 15th assembly (in 2023).

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Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.

According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.

Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.

Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.

The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.