Following the Shiv Sena (UBT)'s request for a prompt ruling on the 16 Shiv Sena MLA disqualification petitions, which also included Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Narwekar has said the court cannot dictate a timeframe to the Speaker for a decision on the matter.
The plea moved by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Sunil Prabhu last week alleged Speaker Narwekar was deliberately delaying the adjudication despite the May 11 verdict of the apex court. The speaker, despite the categorical direction of the top court in its May 11 judgment that the pending disqualification petitions must be decided within a reasonable period, has chosen to not conduct a single hearing, the plea said.
Prabhu, as chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, had in 2022 filed the disqualification petitions against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other Sena MLAs who tied up with the BJP to form a new government in June last year. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Narwekar said, The court cannot dictate the Legislative Assembly Speaker a timeframe to decide on the matter because law and legislature are two separate bodies of our democracy.
Even if it does, I have a right to not accept a notice to this effect. The court can decide once I take the decision, but the court cannot order the Speaker and force him to take a decision within a certain timeframe, he said. Asked about the time he requires to decide on the matter, Narwekar said what has happened in Maharashtra is unprecedented.
I do not have any guideline on such an incident from any other state. Hence, it is complex and crucial for me on how to take a decision on such a matter, he said. Narwekar said notices have been issued to MLAs of both the Sena factions and if he gets a petition seeking additional time to reply, then he will decide on it on the basis of the request content.
To a query on when will he take a call on the recent revolt in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Narwekar said, I will go as per the chronology of petitions filed before the Speaker's office. I cannot select any particular petition.