Sena Vs Sena: SC lists Thackeray faction’s disqualification plea for hearing on April 8

The Supreme Court on Thursday listed the hearing of the petition filed by the Shiv Sena-Uddhav Thackeray faction on April 8, 2024 and summoned original records about the disqualification of MLAs of Eknath Shinde group, including the chief minister, from the office of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker.

It is important to note that the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar had—in an order on January 10, 2024—declared the Shiv Sena-Eknath Shinde group as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022.

Speaker Narwekar had also rejected the Uddhav Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde.

A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra summoned the original documents from the Maharashtra Speaker's office.

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The apex court, which had issued notice on the Thackeray group's petition, also asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s faction to file a response to Uddhav Thackeray group’s plea positively on or before April 1, and listed the plea for final hearing on April 8.

The top court bench said it was keeping the issue of maintainability of the petition open.

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In January, the apex court issued notice to Maharashtra Chief Minister Shinde and 38 MLAs of his group on Thackeray faction plea challenging the Speaker's order.

The Shinde group had approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the refusal of the Speaker to disqualify the Uddhav Thackeray group and the High Court issued notice on the Shinde group's petition.

In the apex court, along with the Maharashtra Speaker's decision to not disqualify Shinde and his group, the Thackeray faction also challenged the order of the Speaker to recognise the Shinde faction as the 'real Shiv Sena' after its split in June 2022.

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The Speaker's decision came on January 10, nearly two years after Thackeray's camp moved disqualification petitions against Shinde and his supporting legislators under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution.

Approaching the apex court against Maharashtra Speaker Narwekar's decision dismissing the disqualification petitions against Shinde and 38 "rebel" Shiv Sena legislators, the Thackeray faction said the decision was a "colourable" exercise of power based on "extraneous and irrelevant" considerations.

Earlier, the top court had asked the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to expeditiously decide the disqualification petitions pending before him.

In May last year, a five-judge constitutional bench held that it could not disqualify the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government and reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister because the latter had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the Assembly.

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