The Bombay High Court on Wednesday issued notices to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and the 14 MLAs aligned with Uddhav Thackeray, responding to petitions filed by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
The petitions challenge Mr. Narwekar’s directive to refrain from disqualifying the lawmakers.
A division bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Firdosh Pooniwalla directed the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat and all respondents to submit their affidavits, scheduling the hearing for February 8.
The chief whip of Shinde-led Shiv Sena, Bharat Gogavale, has filed petitions challenging Mr. Narwekar’s January 10 order dismissing disqualification petitions against 14 MLAs from the Thackeray group.
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The petitions challenge the “legality, propriety, and correctness” of the order, seeking to declare it as legally flawed and disqualify all 14 MLAs.
“Issue notice to all respondents. Reply affidavits if any to be filed in advance and copies to be served on the petitioner. Matter to be listed on February 8,” the court said clarifying the new practice of swift hearings. As per a new practice, all matters filed are taken up for hearing within a day or two.
“Because of auto-listing the petitions have been listed today. There is a standing notice that all matters once it is filed will be listed. This reduces the burden of mentioning and all. At least this way, the matter will move forward,” Justice Kulkarni said.
Mr. Gogavale, who filed the petitions on January 12, alleges that Thackeray group MLAs violated a whip, gave up party membership, and voted against the Shiv Sena government, in cahoots with Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) destabilising the ruling dispensation.
In the petitions, the Shiv Sena leader said that on July 3, 2022, he had issued a whip to all Shiv Sena members to vote in favour of the Shinde government during the confidence motion to be held in the assembly on July 4, 2022.
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Meanwhile, the Thackeray faction filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Speaker’s order.
Mr. Gogavale argues that the Speaker’s conclusion dismissing his claims as allegations are illegal and unsustainable, stating the recorded Assembly voting against the whip.
“The final order passed by Speaker erroneously concludes that the grounds as raised by petitioner [Gogavale] are mere allegations and assertions on the part of the Petitioner,” the petitions said.
In a huge setback to the Uddhav Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena, Mr. Narwekar on January 10, had declared Mr. Shinde’s faction as the ‘real political party’.
