In a setback to the Mulayam Singh Yadav government in Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court Tuesday set aside previous Assembly Speaker Kesri Nath Tripathi's decision to grant recognition to deserting 40 Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs, who subsequently joined the ruling Samajwadi Party.

A three-member Lucknow bench of the court in a 2-1 verdict declined to settle the issue of disqualification of the deserting BSP MLAs, saying the issue can be decided only by the Speaker.

Chief Justice A N Ray rejected the BSP petition and upheld the order of the then Speaker. However, Justice Jagdish Bhalla and Justice Pradeep Kant gave a dissenting verdict and quashed the Speaker's order and referred the matter of disqualification and recognition of the breakway outfit to him.