New Delhi: Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) party MLA Sunil Prabhu Tuesday moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to expedite the decision on the disqualification petitions against rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.
The move comes days after NCP leader Ajit Pawar and eight others were inducted into the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government. On Sunday, Pawar pulled off a stunning revolt in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), triggering a vertical split, and joined hands with the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance. Pawar took oath as the deputy chief minister on the same day with eight other MLAs also swearing in as ministers.
In the plea filed through advocates Amit Anand Tiwari and Nishanth Patil, Prabhu said the Speaker has failed to decide the disqualification petitions filed by the petitioner against delinquent members of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. “The present incumbent Speaker, the Respondent, has clearly demonstrated by his inaction that he is incapable of functioning as a fair and unbiased Tribunal under the Tenth Schedule, as required by law”, said the plea.
The plea said in the present case, where the Speaker has demonstrably failed to act in a fair and unbiased manner as required of him by the Constitution, it is constitutionally imperative for the apex court to issue appropriate directions to ensure that the provisions of the Tenth Schedule are not reduced to a nullity merely on account of the inaction of the speaker.
On May 11, the Supreme Court asked the speaker, Rahul Narwekar, to decide the fate of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Eknath Shinde, who were accused of anti-party activities. Prabhu's petition contended that three subsequent representations have been submitted by the petitioner to the speaker.
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“The constitutional requirement of fairness enjoins upon the Speaker the obligation to decide the question of disqualification in an expeditious manner. Any unreasonable delay on the part of the Speaker in deciding the petitions for disqualification contributes to and perpetuates the constitutional sin of defection committed by the delinquent members”, said the plea.
The plea contended that in the present case, the delinquent MLAs against whom disqualification petitions are pending have committed brazenly unconstitutional acts which per se invite disqualification under Paras 2(1)(a), 2(1)(b), and 2(2) of the Tenth Schedule. “The Speaker’s inaction in deciding the disqualification proceedings is an act of grave constitutional impropriety as his inaction is allowing MLAs who are liable to be disqualified to continue in the assembly and to hold responsible positions in the government of Maharashtra including that of the Chief Minister”, it said.
The plea urged the apex court to direct the Speaker, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, to decide the disqualification petitions expeditiously, within a time-bound manner, preferably within a period of two weeks, or alternatively, to decide the disqualification petitions itself. “Despite undisputedly incurring disqualification, the delinquent MLAs of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, who have committed the sin of defection, are continuing as ministers, and even heading the government in Maharashtra as Chief Minister”, said the plea.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, which consisted of the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), collapsed last year after a revolt against Thackeray by Shinde. It resulted in a split in the Shiv Sena.
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