The Constitution Bench on the Supreme Court on Friday refused to refer pleas, pertaining to the Sena faction Maharashtra political crisis, to a seven-judge bench for reconsideration of the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgement “without hearing the merits of the case”, reported The Indian Express.
The five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said that the 2016 judgment, that deals with powers of assembly speakers to decide on disqualification pleas, could not be considered “in abstract without facts of the case”.
The bench, also comprising justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, said that the hearing on the merits of the case will be held on Tuesday (February 21) at 10:30 AM.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena, had sought reference of the cases to a seven-judge bench for a re-look at the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgement, while senior advocates Harish Salve and N K Kaul, appearing for the Sena’s Eknath Shinde-led faction, had opposed the reference to a larger bench, reported PTI. Referring to a larger bench was also opposed by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Maharashtra governor.
In 2016, a five-judge Constitution bench, while deciding the Nabam Rebia case of Arunachal Pradesh, had ruled that the Speaker of the House cannot proceed with a plea for disqualification of MLAs filed under the anti-defection law while a notice under Article 179(c) for the Speaker’s removal is pending.
The 2016 judgment had come to the rescue of the Shinde camp, which had cited the ruling during the Maharashtra political crisis in June last year.
The rebellion led by Shinde in 2022 had led to a division in the Shiv Sena into two factions, each claiming to be the “real” Shiv Sena. The then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray collapsed on June 29 and Shinde took oath as the CM next day, and senior BJP leader and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis became his deputy.
While, the Thackeray camp had contested and sought their disqualification even while a notice of the Shinde group for the removal of Maharashtra Assembly Deputy Speaker Narhari Sitaram Zirwal, a Thackeray loyalist, was pending before the House.
The Bench had reserved its order on Thursday on a plea that arose from petitions resulting from the last year’s Maharashtra fallout.