SC agrees to hear plea filed by Sharad Pawar faction for Maha Speaker to decide disqualification pleas against Ajit Pawar faction

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the court had asked the Speaker to put up a schedule for these pleas. The top court said it will list the pleas by the Uddhav Thackeray faction and Sharad Pawar faction together on Friday.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition filed by Nationalist Congress Party Sharad Pawar faction seeking a direction to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker to expeditiously decide their petitions seeking disqualification of rebel MLAs led by Ajit Pawar under the anti-defection law.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the court had asked the Speaker to put up a schedule for these pleas. The top court said it will list the pleas by the Uddhav Thackeray faction and Sharad Pawar faction together on Friday.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the petitioner Jayant Patil (Sharad Pawar faction), and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the Ajit Pawar faction, appeared before the apex court. Rohatgi said the disqualification petitions were filed only in September and the petitioner very soon approached the apex court. Sibal said the petitions were filed way back in July.

The Chief Justice said that he would list the matter along with the Shiv Sena matter. Rohatgi said that the facts in both cases are different.

On September 18, the Supreme Court fast-tracked the hearing on the disqualification petitions against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other Shiv Sena MLAs and asked the Speaker to list the matter before him within a week and set down a time schedule to decide disqualification pleas.

The apex court said that the Speaker has to abide by the dignity of the Supreme Court and four months have passed since its judgment, where the court asked the Speaker, Rahul Narwekar, to decide the fate of Shiv Sena MLAs, including Eknath Shinde, who were accused of anti-party activities.

On July 14, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker on a petition by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu seeking a direction to expedite decision on the disqualification petitions against rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.