NCP disqualification pleas: SC asks Maharashtra Assembly Speaker to decide on matter by Feb 15

Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar. File Pic

The Supreme Court on Monday asked Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide on matter by Feb 15, the ANI reported.

According to the ANI, the Supreme Court extended time till February 15 for Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to pass a final order on the plea of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) seeking disqualification against rebel MLAs led by Ajit Pawar.

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The bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to extend the time till February 15, 2024, as per the ANI.

Earlier, on October 30, 2023, the apex court had set the January 31 deadline for Rahul Narwekar to decide the issue. Later, two days ahead of the expiration of the deadline, the Speaker approached the top court, seeking three weeks' additional time.

At the outset of the hearing, Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta told the bench that since the Speaker was occupied with deciding the disqualification petitions filed over the Shiv Sena case, he was not in a position to comply with the timeline.

The Solicitor General, seeking an extension of time, said that the proceedings are otherwise over and the Speaker realistically needs three more weeks to dictate the order.

In July 2023, a Sharad Pawar-led NCP camp had filed disqualification petitions against eight MLAs for anti-party activities after Ajit Pawar split the party and joined the coalition government in Maharashtra as deputy Chief Minister.

Jayant Patil, a Sharad Pawar loyalist, later moved the apex court, seeking direction from the Speaker for a time-bound disposal of the disqualification petitions, in view of a similar direction passed by the top court in the case involving the Shiv Sena party dispute between Uddhav Thackeray and the Eknath Shinde group.

The apex court then asked the Speaker to fast-track the adjudication of the disqualification petitions.

On July 3, 2023, Ajit Pawar, the leader of the NCP, was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, aligning himself with the existing coalition government of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Shortly thereafter, on July 5, he filed a petition with the ECI, asserting his claim to the 'symbol' and 'name' of the NCP. He maintained the support of 40 members from Parliament, legislative assembly, and legislative council, citing a resolution passed on June 30, 2023, appointing him as the president of the NCP.

(with ANI inputs)