The Supreme Court today extended the time for the Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the disqualification petitions lodged by the Sharad Pawar faction against the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party.
A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra agreed to extend the time till February 15, 2024.
Earlier on October 30, the apex court had directed the Maharashtra Speaker to decide as per the tenth schedule of the Constitution by January 31, 2024. Two days before the expiry of the deadline, the Speaker approached the top court seeking three weeks additional time.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta stated that since the Speaker was occupied with deciding the disqualification petition filed over the Shiv Sena rift, he is not in a position to comply with the given timeline. The Solicitor General said that the proceedings are otherwise over and the Speaker realistically requires three more weeks to dictate the order.
The Supreme Court earlier set the deadline in a writ petition filed by NCP Sharad Pawar faction member seeking to direct the Speaker to decide the disqualification petition lodged against Ajit Pawar group.
The rift in the Nationalist Congress Party arose when a faction led by Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel broke ranks with the party’s supremo Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde Sena. Later, Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister and 8 other NCP MLAs took oath as MInister in the Eknath Shinde led government in July 2023.
The Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP reacted to the move by filing a disqualification plea against Ajit Pawar and the 8 MLAs who joined the Eknath Shinde government. Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar claimed that he had the support of the majority NCP MLAs. He added that the support represents the real NCP.