Real Shiv Sena: SC to hear Thackeray faction's plea against Maharashtra assembly speaker's order

File photo for representation. Pic/iStock

The Supreme Court said on Monday that it will schedule the plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's decision declaring Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena bloc as the "real political party" following the party's split in June 2022.

The plea of the Thackeray faction was listed for hearing on Monday but the matter could not be taken up during the day due to paucity of time, newswire PTI reported.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray faction, informed the bench, comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, that the notice had been issued earlier and urged for a response from the Shinde faction. "Let them (Shinde faction) file a response. The notice was issued earlier," Sibal told the bench.

"We will list it," the CJI said.

However, senior advocate Harish Salve, representing the Shinde group, argued that since a similar petition is pending in the Bombay High Court, simultaneous proceedings in two courts cannot happen.

Previously, on February 5, the bench led by the CJI had agreed to consider listing the Thackeray faction's plea. The top court had issued notices to Chief Minister Shinde and other lawmakers of his group on January 22, following the Thackeray bloc's challenge against the speaker's order.

The top court had on January 22 issued notices to Shinde and other lawmakers on the Thackeray bloc's plea. The court had then ordered its listing after two weeks.

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The Thackeray faction contends that Shinde has "unconstitutionally usurped power" and is leading an "unconstitutional government" in Maharashtra. Speaker Narwekar's order on January 10, which dismissed the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde, has been challenged by the Thackeray faction.

Challenging the orders passed by the speaker, the Thackeray faction has claimed they are "patently unlawful and perverse" and that instead of punishing the act of defection, they reward the defectors by holding that they comprise the real political party. (With inputs from PTI)