Maharashtra: Bombay High Court issues notice to Shinde faction, matter reaches Supreme Court
The Bombay High Court issued notice to Narvekar and 14 MLAs from the Uddhav Thackeray group on a plea by CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena challenging Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar’s order not to disqualify MLAs. A division bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Firdosh Poonawalla also issued notice to the Maharashtra Legislature Secretariat.
All the defendants were directed to file affidavits on the petition. The bench fixed February 8 for hearing of the case. The petitions filed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena chief whip Bharat Gogawale against 14 MLAs from the rival camp said he would hear Narvekar’s order on January 10 dismissing the respective disqualification petitions. Are challenging the validity, propriety and accuracy of the order.
Gogavale has urged the High Court to declare the order of the Assembly Speaker inappropriate from the point of law, cancel it and disqualify all the 14 MLAs of the Uddhav faction. The hearing on Uddhav’s petition is on January 22.
The Supreme Court has postponed till January 22 the hearing on the petition of the Uddhav faction against the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker’s order declaring the Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction as a real political party. The petition, filed on behalf of the Thackeray faction, was listed by the apex court registry for January 19 before a bench of CJID Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra. Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Thackeray group, said that the hearing should be held on Monday next week instead of this Friday.
