The Supreme Court on Friday scheduled to hear the Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray’s faction plea challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narweka’s order declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the real political party on March 7. The Shiv Sena split took place in June 2022.
Previously, the Uddhav Thackeray faction’s plea was to be listed for hearing on March 1 before a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Appearing for Thackeray group, Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the plea and said it was not in the list of business. The Senior Advocate urged the bench, also comprising Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, that it be listed on March 7.
Subsequently, the Chief Justice of India said that the bench will list the matter for hearing on March 7, adding that several matters, which were to be listed on March 1, could not be accommodated in the list as the bench has to rise early. Notably, on February 5 and 12, the top court assured early listing of the plea after Kapil Sibal mentioned it.
Earlier on January 22, the apex court issued notices to Chief Minister Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on the Thackeray bloc’s plea challenging the speaker’s order. The Supreme Court had then ordered its listing after two weeks.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction has alleged that Eknath Shinde unconstitutionally usurped power and is heading an unconstitutional government in Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar in an order passed on January 10 rejected the Thackeray faction’s plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Eknath Shinde. The Thackeray group has asserted the speaker’s order patently unlawful and perverse and instead of punishing the act of defection, they reward the defectors by holding that they comprise the real political party.