Bengaluru: A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi was told by the counsel of Anil Chacko Joseph, the Youth Congress leader, that the resignations by the rebel MLAs were nothing but a kind of defection and sought a hearing as an intervenor.

A Karnataka Youth Congress leader moved the Supreme Court on Friday seeking to intervene in a case filed by 10 rebel Congress and JD(S) MLAs for a directive to the Assembly Speaker to accept their resignations.

The apex court has listed for hearing on Friday the petition of the 10 rebel MLAs seeking a directive to Karnataka Assembly speaker KR Ramesh Kumar for accepting their resignations.

Chacko, in his application, said that a resignation had the same effect as defecting from a party and that the MLAs were "bought or persuaded to resign by payment of enormous sums of money".

The apex court allowed Chacko to be heard as intervenor in the matter.