New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday held a hearing on the Maharashtra power struggle for the third consecutive day. A five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud has reserved its decision.
The bench heard the arguments of the lawyers appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde factions. During the hearing, the bench said that it heard the lawyers of both the sides. A hearing was held regarding the reference to the Nabam Rebia case to refer the matter to a larger bench. For the time being the order has been reserved.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, on behalf of the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), demanded that the matter be referred to a seven-member bench. On behalf of the Uddhav group, an appeal has been made to consider the decision of Nabam Rebia. At the same time, senior advocates Harish Salve and NK Kaul, appearing for the Shinde faction, opposed the matter to be referred to a larger bench. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Governor of Maharashtra, also opposed any move to refer the matter to a larger bench.
Know what is Nabam Rabia case –
Significantly, in the year 2016, the Supreme Court had ordered the restoration of the government headed by the sacked CM Nabam Tuki of Arunachal Pradesh. The court had said that if the proposal to remove the assembly speaker is pending in the house, then the MLAs cannot be disqualified.
Eknath Shinde faction’s lawyer Harish Salve on Wednesday refuted the argument given by Uddhav Thackeray’s group on violation of the Prohibition of Defection Act. At the same time, the court drew attention to the fact that the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned without facing the majority test and the Mahavikas Aghadi government fell.
