From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: A 3-judge Supreme Court Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India N V Ramana, on Monday asked the newly-elected Maharashtra Assembly not to proceed with the plea to seeking disqualification of the Shiv Sena MLAs. Further Court hearing after Tuesday.
The Bench, which also comprised Justice Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli took note of the submissions by senior lawyers led by Kapil Sibal that several pleas of former CM Uddhav Thackeray’s faction were to be listed on Monday as per the directives of two vacation benches, but they are not on the cause list.
CJI Ramana told Sibal that the listing “will take some time” since the Bench is not yet finalised. He said the matter will be listed after Tuesday after he set up a Bench.
“I urge that there should be no disqulification till the matter is decided here,” Sibal said, pointing out that the top court earlier had protected the rebel MLAs last month when they had approached it.
He said the disqualification petition is listed on Tuesday before the Speaker. There should be no disqualification till the matter is decided. These matters have to be decided here,” Sibal pleaded.
The Bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Governor to “please inform the Assembly Speaker not to take any hearing. Let us see, we will here the matter, it said. Mehta agreed to convey it to the Speaker.
Petitions from both sides are pending before the top court, most of them from the Thackeray faction. Theses are:
1. Petition by Eknath Shinde challenging the disqualification notices issued by the Deputy Speaker. The vacation bench of the court had on June 27 granted interim relief to the Shinde faction by extending the time for replying to the disqualification notices sent to 16 rebel Sena MLAs till July 12.
2. Petition by Shiv Sena’s chief whip Sunil Prabhu challenging the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to Uddhav Thackeray to prove majority of Maha Vikas Aghadi government. On June 29, the Maharashtra governor ordered a floor test leading the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to rush to the top court seeking its deferment.
The Court refused to stay the direction of the Governor to the 31-month-old MVA government to take a floor test in the assembly to prove its majority, after which the then beleaguered chief minister Uddhav Thackeray quit office.
3. Petition filed by Sunil Prabhu, the whip appointed by Uddhav Thackeray-led group, challenging the action of the newly elected Maharashtra Assembly Speaker recognising the whip nominated by the Eknath Shinde group as the Chief Whip of Shiv Sena.
After Shinde was sworn in as the chief minister on June 30, Prabhu moved the top court seeking his suspension and of 15 rebels on various grounds, alleging that they are “acting as pawns of the BJP, thereby committing the constitutional sin of defection.”
“There is no better way to reward defection than offering its leader the post of Chief Minister,” Prabhu had told the Supreme Court.
Prior to this, Prabhu had moved the top court seeking the suspension of the chief minister and 15 rebel MLAs against whom the disqualification pleas are pending.
4. Petition by Sena general secretary Subhash Desai against the decision of the Maharashtra governor to invite Eknath Shinde to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
The Thackeray faction has also challenged the validity of assembly proceedings held on July 3 and July 4 in which a new speaker of the House was elected and the subsequent floor test in which the Shinde-led coalition proved its majority.
