India's highest court ruled on Friday that a government decision to dissolve the legislature in the eastern state of Bihar was unconstitutional, but it stopped short of overturning the move.
The court's ruling is an embarrassment to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress party-led coalition as it comes days ahead of polls to elect a new assembly in the politically crucial state.
New Delhi dissolved Bihar's legislature in May in a move that appeared aimed at preventing the opposition Hindu nationalists from forming a coalition.
"We hold the May 23rd presidential proclamation as unconstitutional," a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court said, referring to the federal government's order to dissolve the Bihar assembly.
"But despite the unconstitutionality, the present one is not a case where status quo ante be restored," it said in response to petitions that had sought the restoration of the dissolved legislature and elections stopped.
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