One day ahead of the verdict by the Maharashtra Speaker at 4 pm on January 10 on the Shiv Sena MLA disqualification case, the Uddhav Thackeray faction filed an application in the Supreme Court on Tuesday objecting to a meeting between Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction, in its application moved in the apex court, has raised serious objections to Speaker Narwekar meeting CM Shinde at his residence on January 7.
"It is highly improper for the Speaker to meet Eknath Shinde just three days prior to deciding the disqualification petitions filed against Shinde," the application filed before the apex court, by Sunil Prabhu of the Uddhav Thackeray camp, stated.
On December 15 last year, nearly 10 months after the Shiv Sena disqualification case came up for hearing in the Supreme Court, Assembly speaker Narwekar was given the last opportunity by the apex court to deliver his order by January 10.
The disqualification petitions arose out of the 2022 split in the Shiv Sena, with one faction joining the BJP to form the government in the state.
The apex court had granted time to the Speaker till January 10 to pass the order after hearing a plea filed by MLA Sunil Prabhu of the Uddhav Thackeray group, seeking direction to the Speaker to take an expeditious decision on the disqualification petitions pending against rebel Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, the current chief minister. The state elections are due next year, nearly six months after the parliamentary polls.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction in its objection application said that the Speaker, as the adjudicating authority under the Tenth Schedule, is “required to act in a fair and impartial manner”.
"The conduct of the Speaker must inspire confidence and justify the constitutional trust reposed in its high office. However, the present act of the Speaker raises questions about the fairness and impartiality of the decision-making process,” the application said.
“The act of the Speaker in meeting Eknath Shinde just prior to the deadline for the decision at his residence is in violation of law and statute,” the application said.