New Delhi: In an extraordinary move, the Supreme Court Monday fixed a two-month deadline for the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly speaker to decide the 35 disqualification petitions arising out of the split in Shiv Sena, which resulted in the toppling of the Udhav Thackeray government in the state last year.
Rejecting the Speaker’s offer to conclude the proceedings in the matter by 29 February, 2024, a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud observed: “Sanctity of the tenth schedule has to be maintained”.
The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by the Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, asking for an expeditious hearing of disqualification petitions pending before the Maharashtra Assembly speaker against those legislators who defected to join the Eknath Shinde group, which with the support of BJP then went on to form government in Maharashtra.
The petitions have been filed under the tenth schedule or the anti-defection law that sets out the provision for disqualification of elected members on the grounds of defection to another polity party.
“We are clearly of the view that procedural wranglings should not delay the proceedings. We direct proceedings shall be concluded on or before 31 December,” the bench, also comprising justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Mishra said.
The bench declined to accept Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s request to mention in its order that the direction to complete the hearing within the particular timeframe, fixed by the court, was in “peculiar facts of the case”.
Mehta, who appeared for the Speaker, opposed the court fixing a timeline for his client. “This court has never in any case directed the Speaker, but has always said that the officer (of the Speaker) should endeavor or try to complete the proceedings within a timeframe. Your lordship, in deciding this case today, would be setting a precedent that could lead other courts in future to issue a direction to the Speaker,” the solicitor said, urging the bench to refrain from issuing “directions” to the Speaker, who too holds a constitutional post.
In response to an earlier order of the bench, the Speaker submitted an affidavit before the court, outlining the schedule he finalized for hearing the 39 disqualification petitions. While 34 are related to the Shiv Sena split, five are concerning Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs who defected to join the Shinde government.
According to the SC order, the NCP Disqualification petitions have to be decided by 31 January, 2024.
Also read: Tiffs with ally BJP, optical wins & ground-level cadre challenges — 1 yr of Shinde rebellion
‘Should not wrangle on until next elections are announced’
Keeping in mind the Diwali break and the winter session of the Assembly, which takes place in Nagpur, and the frequent applications filed by both parties, the affidavit said the Speaker can conclude the hearing by 29 February, 2024. The week-long Diwali break begins on 10 November and ends on 16 November. As for the winter assembly session, it’s a 13-day period for which the secretariat moves to Nagpur, the affidavit disclosed.
Though this session commences on 7 December, 2023, the secretariat, the Speaker’s affidavit mentions, has to move to Nagpur on and from 24 November. “However, the Honorable Speaker, as a special case, can permit the Legislature Secretary to shift a little later, which is on 1 December, 2023, retaining those persons who are required for conducting hearing,” the affidavit submitted.
Even the 29 February, 2024 deadline can be met subject to cooperation from both sides, it further clarified.
However, the affidavit failed to convince the bench, which said that the top court’s constitution bench judgment (on the Governor asking Udhav Thackeray to face a floor test) was delivered in May, this year. “The incidents (of the Shiv Sena split) took place in 2022,” the bench said in aguish over the delayed proceedings.
It further observed : “If the Speaker cannot hear the disqualification proceedings, time has come that we hear them.” The CJI literally counted the number of days that the Speaker would have, barring the two breaks, and told Mehta that he would have close to a month to hear the petitions.
When lawyers for the defected MLAs sought to question the evidence which the Thackeray faction wanted to lead, the bench retorted: “You go on rambling before the speaker, but the proceedings have to conclude by 31 December. These petitions should not wrangle on until next elections are announced.”
The bench then went on to order both sides to furnish a compilation of their documents before the Speaker, who subject to admission or denial of the papers, would accept them. This entire process, the bench ordered, shall be finalised within a week of filing of these documents.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: How Uddhav is rebuilding his Sena for 2024 after Shinde’s defection blow