Rahul Narwekar has said that he needs time to decide on the petitions
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court came under heavy fire on the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker for the delay in deciding the 2022 disqualification petitions against MLAs. It said today “this can’t go on forever” and asked for a schedule on Tuesday.
Disqualification petitions against 39 MLAs, filed during the 2022 Shiv Sena uprising that toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government, are pending before Speaker Rahul Narwekar. Eknath Shinde, who led the rebellion, is now the chief minister and has also taken control of Shiv Sena. A disqualification order is also imposed on him. Mr Narwekar, who hails from the BJP, has been accused by the opposition of delaying a decision on the disqualification funds.
The Supreme Court today said a decision on the issue should be taken well before the next election. “It cannot go on forever,” Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said, adding that the delay would make the disqualification proceedings “sterile”.
“We will adjourn the matter for Tuesday. Let the Speaker give a timetable. If not, we will provide a timetable for completing the procedure. The order of this court must be complied with,” said the bench, which also includes Justice JB. Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, told senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing on behalf of the Shinde faction.
The court said it respects all branches of constitutional authorities and has not set a deadline because it trusts the president to act responsibly. “But we are concerned about the dignity of the court. No step has been taken in six months,” the Chief Justice of India said.
Uddhav Thackeray, who headed the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress government in Maharashtra, had approached the Supreme Court after the riot forced him to resign.
The court had earlier ruled that Thackeray cannot be reinstated as chief minister as he had resigned without undergoing a majority test.
The court had on September 18 asked Mr Narwekar for a timeline to decide the disqualification petitions against Mr Shinde and the MLAs loyal to him and associated with the BJP to form the new government.
The chairman has previously said that the opposition’s attempts to pressure him for a quick decision on the disqualification remedies are not swaying him.
“Whatever decisions I make will be in accordance with the law and the provisions of the Constitution. Such statements do not put any pressure on me as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly. I do not attach any importance to such pressure tactics.” he told reporters in Pune earlier this week, news agency PTI reported.
Asked about the delay, he then said he needs time to decide on the petitions. “We have to decide on several controversial issues. Should we see which is the original political party? Who was the person authorized to issue a whip? If we take a decision without giving a chance to all concerned and without the principles of natural justice, it would be arbitrary,” he said.
Asked about petitions in the Supreme Court for a speedy decision, he said anyone can file a petition.
“It does not mean that everything a petitioner claims in the petition is true. This is a process and we must let the court do its work. We have to make the speaker function and this is called parliamentary democracy,” he had said. said.
