New Delhi: In June last year, the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court gave its verdict in the Uddhav faction-turned-Shinde faction case regarding the political developments that took place in Maharashtra. If a no-confidence motion has been brought against the speaker, can he dispose of the disqualification petition of the MLAs? Now the hearing of this issue will be done by a bench of 7 judges of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, while reading out the judgment, said that the 2016 Nabam Rebia case, which held that disqualification proceedings cannot be initiated by the Speaker if a motion for his removal is pending, required a reference to a larger bench. Is. It should be sent to a larger bench. Now the hearing of this issue will be done by a bench of 7 judges of the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court termed the Speaker’s decision to recognize Bharatshet Gogavale, the whip appointed by the Shinde faction, as the Shiv Sena whip. The Supreme Court said that the courts cannot be taken out of Article 212 by examining the legality of the Speaker’s action. The CJI while reading the verdict said that the whip is issued by the political party and comes in the 10th schedule of the constitution. On June 21, 2022, members of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party hold a meeting and remove Eknath Shinde from the post. The speaker should have recognized the whip appointed by the political party and not the whip appointed by the Shinde faction, Bharatshet Gogavale. The Supreme Court said that the Speaker’s decision to appoint Bharatshet Gogavale (Shinde Group) as Chief Whip of the Shiv Sena Party was illegal. The Speaker should settle the matter of disqualification of the MLAs within the time limit. The speaker should have been chosen according to the Shiv Sena chief party constitution.
Governor’s call for a floor test was unconstitutional: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court also considered calling the floor test by the then Governor unconstitutional. CJI DY Chandrachud said, ‘There was no such document before the governor, in which it was said that the rebel MLAs wanted to withdraw their support from the government. There was a difference of opinion only in some decisions of the government. The governor had only a letter, claiming that the Uddhav government did not have the complete numbers. Floor tests cannot be used as a medium to resolve internal disputes or differences of any political party. Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the Governor to enter the political arena and play a role in intra-party disputes.
Had Uddhav not resigned, we could have given relief: Supreme Court
Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, while reading the verdict of the 5-member constitution bench, said, “The Governor relied on the proposal of a group of Shiv Sena MLAs to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray has lost the support of the majority of MLAs.” Even if it is assumed that the MLAs wanted to be out of the government, they only formed a faction. The calling of floor test by the Governor of Maharashtra was not according to the Constitution of India. They should have taken any step only after the investigation. Uddhav Thackeray did not face the floor test and resigned. In such a situation, the Supreme Court cannot cancel his resignation. If Uddhav had not resigned, we could have given relief. Now we cannot restore the old status quo. The Shinde government will continue in Maharashtra.
What was the whole controversy of the Uddhav vs Shinde faction?
In June 2022, Eknath Shinde and his faction of MLAs rebelled against the Shiv Sena, after which Uddhav Thackeray had to resign as Chief Minister on June 29, 2022, and the MVA government led by him fell. The next day, the rebel faction of Shiv Sena formed a new government with the support of BJP and Eknath Shinde became the Chief Minister. Former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had accepted to become the Deputy Chief Minister in the Shinde government. The Uddhav Thackeray group had filed a petition with the Deputy Speaker of the Assembly, Narhari Jirwal, to disqualify all the 16 rebel MLAs, on which he also took a decision in support of the Uddhav group.
What was the argument given by the Uddhav faction in the Supreme Court?
However, 16 rebel MLAs, including Eknath Shinde, filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Deputy Speaker’s decision, seeking a stay on their disqualification. The Eknath Shinde faction said that some MLAs have already brought a no-confidence motion against the Vice President, so they cannot take a decision on the suspension of the MLAs. After a long hearing that lasted for about 9 months, the Supreme Court had reserved its decision after hearing the arguments of both sides. The lawyers of the Thackeray group argued in the Supreme Court, citing Schedule 10 of the Constitution, that if more than two-thirds of the members of a group of MLAs rebel, they will have to merge with one party or the other. The Uddhav group argued that Shinde and his group did not merge themselves with any party. Therefore they should be disqualified. At the same time, the no-confidence motion brought by the MLAs of the Shinde faction against the Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Assembly was also said by the Thackeray faction to be wrong.
What did the Eknath Shinde faction say in the Supreme Court?
During the hearing in the Supreme Court, the lawyers of the Shinde faction said that their MLAs did not revolt against the party. He is still in Shiv Sena and was in Shiv Sena earlier also. Therefore, the 10th schedule of the constitution, which is being sought to disqualify him, is baseless. Eknath Shinde is the group leader in the Shiv Sena party’s assembly. He has the majority, so the Uddhav Thackeray faction tried to disqualify him illegally without completing the quorum of the MLAs. Among the 16 MLAs who were demanded to be disqualified by the Uddhav Thackeray group, Eknath Shinde, Bharatshet Gogavale, Sandipanrao Bhumre, Abdul Sattar, Sanjay Shirsat, Yamini Jadhav, Anil Babar, Balaji Kinikar, Tanaji Sawant, Prakash Surve, Mahesh Shinde, Lata Sonawane, Chimanrao Patil, Ramesh Bornare, Sanjay Raimulkar, and Balaji Kalyankar are included.
