The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on a petition challenging the holding of elections to one vacant seat in the Maharashtra Legislative Council on May 4 from which he got elected.
A Bench of Justice J.M. Panchal and Justice H.L. Gokhale issued notice after hearing Attorney General G.E. Vahanvati, appearing for Mr. Chavan and counsel for the appellant, Anil Dattatray Parab, who is a former Shiv Sena MLC.
On April 26, the Supreme Court had refused to stay a Bombay High Court order permitting the Election Commission to fill the vacancy in the Legislative Council and posted the matter for hearing on May 6.
On Friday, the Bench issued notice to Mr. Chavan, after the appellant impleaded him as a party.
The vacancy was caused by the resignation of Congress MLC, Sanjay Dutt. The petition alleged that to facilitate Mr. Chavan's election, the Election Commission moved the High Court seeking permission to fill the vacancy before May 10. The High Court granted permission. Mr. Parab's appeal is directed against this order dated April 13.
The Commission had to seek permission to hold the elections as Mr. Parab had in January this year challenged the June 2010 MLC elections in which four Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) MLAs were allowed to vote despite being under suspension.
Mr. Parab in his appeal contended that the High Court order had failed to take into consideration a Supreme Court judgment holding that a casual vacancy could not be filled up when election petitions were pending in the court.
He said the SLP raised important questions of law, viz. whether the Commission's stand in the pending election petitions reflected an unholy and extra-constitutional nexus between itself and the ruling coalition party, thereby casting serious doubts on its independent status and was therefore fit to be rejected?
Open admission
He alleged that the earlier MLC election left no room for doubt that this was a classic case of corrupt practice. There is an open admission that the 13 MNS MLAs had voted for the ruling party to ensure his defeat and in return the ruling party agreed to revoke/cancel the suspension of the four MLAs.
Mr. Parab sought a direction to quash the impugned elections.
