The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party, Nawab Malik and Anil Deshmukh, who were currently in jail, to vote in the Floor test of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, scheduled at 11:00 am on Thursday.
A Vacation Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice J.B. Pardiwala directed the investigating agencies- Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation, to bring the jailed MLAs to the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha for the Floor test and take them back into judicial custody after the proceedings.
The Apex Court further ordered the Counsel of Maharashtra government to convey the order of the Court to all the concerned authorities.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed the applications, stating that the accused had not put on record the earlier order of the Apex Court.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora appeared on behalf of the accused MLAs, who were arrested under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The bench, which sat beyond the court hours to hear the petitions related to Maharashtra political crisis, disposed of the applications of Malik and Deshmukh, at around 9:15 pm.
The Vacation Bench also refused to interfere with Governor B.S. Koshiyari’s direction to the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, comprising Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, to prove its majority in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30 with voting at 5 pm.
While Nawab Malik is the Minority Development Minister, Anil Deshmukh is the former Home Minister of Maharashtra.