Ranchi, Sept. 29: The hearing of a BJP PIL demanding that the Jharkhand Assembly be dissolved immediately, was deferred for three weeks by Supreme Court today, which also directed the attorney-general to submit a reply in this regard within three weeks.

BJP member Sanjay Seth, who was present in the court, said that a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of India, began the hearing.

Former Jharkhand High Court judge Ajit Sinha pleaded that there was no point in keeping the Assembly under suspended animation further and that it be dissolved to pave a path to fresh state elections. “The hearing was for 15 minutes. Thereafter, the Chief Justice asked the attorney-general to prepare a report on how the Centre is planning to tackle the situation,” said Seth.

The Union home minister, P. Chidambaram, in his last visit to Ranchi had promised that the Centre would initiate steps to dissolve the Assembly only after it received a nod from the Election Commission.

It is believed that the current political impasse would continue to linger for at least another month or two.

In the meantime, BJP would hold a gherao in front of the Raj Bhavan on October 11. Forty BJP MLAs have resigned so far, while most of the seats in the 82-member House are lying vacant. Other parties have also announced campaigns to protest the situation.

A top official at Raj Bhavan, requesting anonymity, suggested that the Governor, K. Sankaranarayanan, was delaying decision as he was “convinced” that the Congress could easily win 32 Assembly seats on its own and could secure a majority, provided effective implementation of welfare and development schemes are ensured.