Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena: SC extends time till Jan 10 for Maharashtra Speaker to decide on disqualification petitions

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday extended the time till January 10 for Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to pronounce a verdict on disqualification petitions against MLAs including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The Speaker has sought an extension of time to decide disqualification pleas against rebel MLAs of Shiv Sena and NCP.

Earlier, the Supreme Court asked the Speaker to decide by December 31 on the disqualification petitions pending before him.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said hearing the extension of time after Speaker Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Speaker, stated that the proceedings in the matter would be closed on December 20, 2023.

SG further said that, however, there were lakhs of documents that had to be examined and the same required additional time.

The Solicitor General said, "The Speaker has said that on December 20, the judgement will be reserved and no further time will be taken. Hearings took place even during the Assembly Session. There are 2 lakh, 71 thousand pages. I am seeking a pronouncement of judgment extension of three weeks. We won't ask for more."

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray group, objected to the extension of time, saying the Speaker asked for a similar extension of time last time also.

"The Speaker has indicated that the proceedings will be closed on December 20. The Speaker has sought a reasonable extension of time. Bearing in mind the time limit laid out earlier, we grant an extension of time till January 10, 2023, for the Speaker to deliver judgement," the bench ordered.

On the last date of the hearing the top court had asked the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions filed in relation to the Shiv Sena rift and the Nationalist Congress Party rift by December 31, 2023 and January 31, 2024 respectively.

The top court Had then rejected the proposal of the Maharashtra Speaker that he could conclude proceedings on cross-disqualification petitions filed by Shiv Sena factions by February 29, 2024.

The CJI had pointed out that the Constitution bench judgement in the Shiv Sena case was delivered in May this year and the incidents took place in July 2022.

The apex court was hearing a plea filed by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena seeking direction to the Speaker to take an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitions pending against rebel Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde. The plea was filed by MLA Sunil Prabhu of Uddhav Thackeray's group of Shiv Sena.

It had also asked the Speaker to decide by January 31, 2024, disqualification pleas filed by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seeking directions to Speaker to take action against rebel MLAs led by Ajit Pawar.

The Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar-led factions had sought an expeditious decision by the Speaker on the disqualification petitions filed, respectively, against the Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar factions.

Earlier, the top court expressed disapproval over the delay by the Speaker in deciding the disqualification petitions and said it had been asking the Speaker to decide on the matter for four months.

The top court had noted that a total of 34 petitions filed by both groups of Shiv Sena against each other seeking the disqualification of 56 MLAs are pending before the Speaker.

The disqualification pleas have been pending since the Maharashtra political crisis started. The plea sought direction for the Speaker to decide disqualification petitions within a time-bound manner.

Sunil Prabhu for Thackeray group in his plea contended that in the present case the delinquent MLAs against whom disqualification petitions are pending have committed "brazenly unconstitutional acts" which per se invite disqualification under Paras 2(1)(a), 2(1)(b), and 2(2) of the Tenth Schedule.

The Speaker's inaction in deciding the disqualification proceedings is an "act of grave constitutional impropriety," as his inaction is allowing MLAs who are liable to be disqualified to continue in the assembly and to hold responsible positions in the government of Maharashtra, including that of the Chief Minister, the plea added.

The disqualification petitions against the rebel MLAs were filed by Sunil Prabhu, the Shiv Sena party whip appointed by Uddhav Thackeray, on June 23, 2022, after the MLAs revolted against Thackeray. The notices of disqualification were issued by Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal in the absence of the Speaker.

On May 11, a five-judge Constitution bench held that it could not disqualify the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minster because the latter had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the Assembly.

In August last year, the top court's three-judge bench referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issues involved in the petition filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis.

On June 29, 2022, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30. It had refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor's direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30.

After the apex court's order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister. (ANI)