New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said that it will begin hearing the merits of the case regarding the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis, sparked by Eknath Shinde’s rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray, from February 21. The top court said the request by the Thackeray faction, seeking a reference of the case to a larger, seven-judge bench to re-examine the court’s 2016 Nabam Rebia judgment will also be decided along with the merits.
According to Bar and Bench, a constitution bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha passed the order in a batch of cases filed by the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena.
“Issue of reference cannot be decided in isolation without facts of the case. Issue of reference will be decided only with merits of the case,” the court said. The matter will be listed for hearing on merits of the case from February 21.
The Thackeray camp has asked the issue to be referred to a seven-judge bench.
“Whether the principle formulated in Nabam Rebia has an impact on the factual position in the present case needs deliberation. In the above backdrop, the issue whether the reference of the decision in Nabam Rebia to a larger bench is warranted would be determined together with the merits of the case,” the bench said.
The Nabam Rebia case held that a speaker will be disabled from deciding disqualification petitions under the anti-defection law (10th schedule of the constitution) if a notice for their removal is pending. This view has been questioned in the present matter by the Uddhav faction, while the Shinde side says no re-examination is required, according to LiveLaw.
Case background
In June 2022, a group of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray – saying that the latter’s decision to align with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party went against the party’s Hindutva ideology.
When it became evident that the rebel MLAs – with the support of the BJP-appointed governor – would call for a trust, the Shinde received disqualification notices from the then deputy speaker.
The faction moved the Supreme Court to consider whether the rebels should be disqualified.
On June 27, 2022, the top court granted interim relief to Shinde by extending the time to file responses to the disqualification notices. It later, on June 29, gave the go-ahead to a floor test called by the governor.
Because the Maha Vikas Aghadi government did not have the requisite numbers, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as chief minister. Shinde took oath as chief minister, with the backing of the BJP.
Also Read: Why Eknath Shinde’s Breakaway MLAs Still Stand to Be Disqualified
Subsequently, the Thackeray camp filed petitions before the Supreme Court. One of them, according to Bar and Bench, challenged the summoning of the assembly by the Maharashtra governor. It has also challenged the order of the then newly-appointed speaker removing Ajay Chaudhary and Sunil Prabhu as leader and chief whip of the Shiv Sena Legislature Party.
According to LiveLaw, in arguments before the five-judge bench, the Uddhav side argued that Nabam Rebia enables defecting MLAs to stall disqualification proceedings by issuing a notice seeking the speaker’s removal. The Shinde group opposed the need for reference, along with the solicitor general of India Tushar Mehta, who was appearing for the governor.