|HT|
The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear at 5pm a plea by ruling Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu against the Maharashtra governor’s direction to chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove the majority of his government in the assembly on Thursday at 11am. “Keeping in view the kind of urgency that has been created, we will want to hear the matter today...We will perform our duty,” said a bench of justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi mentioned the matter before the bench on behalf of Prabhu, complaining that the court’s interim order on Monday protecting the rebel Shiv Sena legislators led by Eknath Shinde from the disqualification proceedings till July 12 was being misused to bring down the Maharashtra government.
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the Shinde faction, opposed the demand for an urgent hearing. He added the disqualification proceedings have nothing to do with the floor test.
On Monday, the bench protected Shinde and 15 other rebel lawmakers from the disqualification proceedings till July 12. It virtually restrained the Maharashtra assembly’s deputy Speaker Narhari Zariwal from disqualifying the 16 until the court examines his authority to entertain the disqualification petitions when a motion seeking his removal was pending. The Shinde faction sought Zariwal’s removal on June 21. Four days later, Zariwal issued disqualification notices to the 16 dissidents, including Shinde.
“We have to determine the very competence of the [deputy] Speaker to decide. If we don’t say anything today, that would mean the speaker is competent to go ahead. Today, we have to ensure the matter does not become infructuous,” the bench said on Monday, extending the time for Shinde and 15 others to file replies to the notice issued by the deputy Speaker till July 12.
As per the June 25 disqualification notices, the lawmakers were asked to submit written replies to the disqualification notices by June 27. But the bench held the disqualification proceedings must be “kept in abeyance” for the time being since there are questions surrounding Zirwal’s authority in initiating the action. The court issued notices to Zariwal, Prabhu, and Shiv Sena legislature party leader Ajay Chaudhary on the petitions by Shinde and 15 others and asked them to file their counter-affidavits within five days. Shinde and his loyalists could file their replies subsequently.
Acting on two writ petitions filed by Shinde and 15 other rebels, the court asked Zariwal to explain if he could deal with the disqualification proceedings until a question related to his removal is decided. It also asked his office to put all the documents on record relating to the notice served for his removal.
The court on Monday also told the state government to ensure the safety of all the dissident legislators and their families.
The Sena moved the court after calling Koshyari’s directive unlawful as the disqualification proceedings of 16 lawmakers remained pending. “Now if [Opposition] BJP [Bharatiya Janata Party] and the Governor House are trying to bring down the government, we will approach the Supreme Court and seek justice,” said Sena leader Sanjay Raut citing the disqualification proceedings. “The demand for a special session [for the floor test] is not in accordance with the law.” The political turmoil in Maharashtra began last week when Shinde and his loyalists left for Surat and later Guwahati. As days passed, the rebel ranks swelled even as the Sena appealed Zirwal to disqualify the 16 lawmakers.
The Shinde faction has 39 lawmakers, more than two-thirds needed to legally break away from Shiv Sena. Shinde, who has camped in Guwahati since June 22, has said he has the support of 50 lawmakers.
Koshyari directed completion of the trust vote proceedings by 5pm on Thursday a day after former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who returned to Mumbai after meeting Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in Delhi, met the governor along with four party lawmakers and submitted letters of support from eight independent legislators.
(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)