“We cannot undo his resignation and therefore MVA cannot be put back in the seat of government,” the CS said in a telling verdict on the political crisis in the state last year triggered by the rebellion of several Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.
The high court refused to disqualify Shiv Sena’s 16 rebel MLAs, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and ordered the Maharashtra speaker to decide on their petitions within a reasonable time frame.
Uddhav Thackeray v Eknath Shinde Supreme Court: “He could have reinstated Uddhav Thackeray as CM…”
In a unanimous verdict, the SC Panel of Five Judges headed by CJI DY Chandrachud, stopped the then Governor of Maharashtra and the then speaker for their actions.
“The governor did not have any objective material to conclude that the MVA government had lost its majority in the House and its decision was illegal. The resolution the governor relied on did not indicate that the MLAs wanted to withdraw support,” she said. bench.
“The floor test cannot be used to resolve internal disputes between the parties,” the court said.
The high court said there had been no communications the governor relied on indicating dissatisfied MLAs wanted to withdraw support for the government. The governor erred in relying on the resolution of a faction of Shiv Sena’s MLAs to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray had lost the support of the majority of MLAs, he added.
The high court also found the speaker’s decision to appoint Gogawale (backed by the Shinde group) as group leader of the Shiv Sena party illegal.
He said the speaker should only acknowledge the whip nominated by a political party.
But the then governor’s decision to invite Eknath Shinde to form the government was upheld by the apex court. “The governor was justified in inviting Shinde to form the government at the behest of the BJP, which was the largest political party in the house,” the court said.
Meanwhile, the highest court has decided to refer the 2016 Nabam Rebia case to a wider panel, according to which the speaker cannot initiate interdict proceedings when a resolution calling for his removal is pending.
Soon after the Supreme Court’s verdict with its scathing remarks, the Shiv Sena (UBT) said that Prime Minister Eknath Shinde has lost the moral authority to continue and must step down immediately.
Clock Shiv Sena v. Shiv Sena Ruling: Relief for Eknath Shinde, Uddhav Thackeray’s Resignation Proves Costly
