Shivani Thakur
Published on: June 29, 2022, at 20:01 IST
The Maharashtra governor had ordered Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to demonstrate the majority of his government in the assembly by Thursday at 11am. The Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu had agreed to have his appeal heard by the Supreme Court at 5pm.
“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 Supreme Court.
Senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi brought up the issue and said that the Court’s temporary injunction sheltering the rebel Shiv Sena lawmakers led by Eknath Shinde from the disqualification proceedings till July 12 was being abused to overthrow the Maharashtra government.
The Shinde faction’s senior attorney Neeraj Kishan Kaul disagreed with the request for an expedited hearing.
The Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala protected Shinde and 15 other rebel lawmakers from the disqualification proceedings till July 12.
“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.
As per the June 25 disqualification notices, the lawmakers were asked to submit written replies to the disqualification notices by June 27.
The Court requested Zariwal to provide an explanation as to whether he could handle the disqualification proceedings till a matter pertaining to his removal is resolved after acting on two writ petitions filed by Shinde and 15 other rebels. Additionally, it requested that any records pertaining to the notice of his removal be filed by his office.
“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.”
After meeting with BJP president JP Nadda and Union Home minister Amit Shah in Delhi, Devendra Fadnavis proceeded to Mumbai and met the governor with four party members and eight independent legislators. Koshyari then ordered the trust vote proceedings to be finished by 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Fadnavis said they have demanded an immediate floor test and added that 39 Shiv Sena members do not support the government.
In addition, Koshyari stated that it looks Thackeray has lost the majority and highlighted an email from seven Independent MPs, Fadnavis’ letter, and media coverage. In light of this, he claimed, Thackeray needed to pass the floor test.