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The Shinde faction has informed the bench today that many documents produced before the Speaker were brazenly fabricated
The Supreme Court today has directed the Eknath Shinde faction to file its reply in the plea by Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena challenging the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker's decision of January 10, 2024 dismissing its disqualification petition filed against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.
"We will list it for the week commencing April 8. The original records shall be summoned from the office of the tribunal which heard the disqualification petitions. Reply to be filed on or before April 1, 2024", a CJI DY Chandrachud led bench ordered.
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani requested the bench to keep the question of maintainability open.
"We have to consider the issue of Article 136 vs Article 226..they have to move the high court first..also what test will a Speaker apply if there are issues of forgery and fabrication..", court was told by Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi.
On this aspect, Senior Advocate Harish Salve added that when the Shinde faction had moved the high court, the Thackeray faction did not inform that they were moving the supreme court and on the same day when notice was issued by the high court, they mentioned at 2PM before this court.
When the matter was taken up today, the bench also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was told that the term of the Assembly itself was to expire in October and this the petition has to be heard as soon as possible. "We have to move expeditiously. They have not filed a reply yet. Let them file a reply. This matter must be decided as quickly as possible..", Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Uddhav Thackeray faction told the bench.
Court was further told that legislative majority could not be the basis for the Speaker's decision as per the Subhash Desai judgment.
Supreme Court had on January 22, 2024 issued notice in the plea filed by Sunil Prabhu, part of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction, challenging the Speaker's dismissal of the disqualification petitions.
The party has questioned the Speaker's decision, which "erroneously" holds that the 2018 leadership structure cannot be relied upon as it purportedly does not conform with the provisions of the Shiv Sena's Constitution.
Claiming the Speaker's decisions as "unlawful and perverse", it claimed, "All impugned decisions are premised on a common finding that the majority of legislators represented the will of the political party, and therefore, they are not liable for disqualification. This amounts to a complete inversion of the Tenth Schedule".
In January, the Shiv Sena faction led by Uddhav Thackeray had also filed an application in the Supreme Court bringing to its notice the Assembly Speaker's meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on January 7, ahead of him pronouncing the verdict in the disqualification petitions, terming it as "highly improper".
Cause Title: Sunil Prabhu vs. The Speaker, Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly
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