The political suspense in Rajasthan continued after the high court reserved its judgment in the disqualification case, requesting the Speaker not to take action against the Sachin Pilot camp till Friday evening.

As the dissenting MLAs got a reprieve for another three days, the Congress’s worries intensified because it wanted to complete the trust vote soon to prevent further scope for defections.

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot met the party MLAs put up at Hotel Fairmont in Jaipur on Tuesday afternoon to discuss future strategy and also held a meeting of his cabinet.

Speaker C.P. Joshi, who assured the court that his decision will not come before the new deadline, started hearing lawyers of both sides in his chamber amidst the charge by the Pilot camp that he did not apply his mind before sending showcause notices to the dissenting legislators.

The Pilot camp’s lawyer, Mukul Rohatgi, told the court on Tuesday that the Speaker had issued notices in undue haste and it reeked of “malafides”.

Arguing that the notices were sent on the same day the complaint was lodged by the Congress chief whip, Rohatgi said, “It is wrong to say the petition was premature at this stage. The Speaker’s notices can be challenged on grounds of defect of jurisdiction, excess of jurisdiction, colourable exercise of power malafides and violation of the principles of natural justice.”