The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will schedule a plea filed by the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision declaring the Shiv Sena bloc led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the “real political party” following the party’s split in June 2022, for March 7.
The Thackeray faction’s plea was originally set for hearing on March 1 before a bench led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray faction, brought up the plea, noting its absence from the business list. He requested the bench, also comprising of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, to reschedule it for March 7.
“We will schedule it for hearing on March 7 (Thursday),” stated the Chief Justice of India, explaining that numerous matters intended for March 1 could not be accommodated due to the bench needing to adjourn early.
Earlier, on February 5 and 12, the Apex Court had assured the early scheduling of the plea after Sibal’s mention of it.
On January 22, the Supreme Court issued notices to Chief Minister Shinde and other lawmakers from his faction regarding the Thackeray bloc’s plea contesting the speaker’s decision. At that time, the court had directed its scheduling after a two-week period.
The Thackeray faction has accused Shinde of “unconstitutionally usurping power” and leading an “unconstitutional government” in Maharashtra.
In a ruling issued on January 10, Speaker Narwekar dismissed the Thackeray faction’s request to disqualify 16 MLAs from the ruling camp, including Shinde.
The Thackeray faction has denounced the speaker’s ruling as “patently unlawful and perverse,” arguing that instead of penalizing the act of defection, it rewards the defectors by recognizing them as the authentic political party.
