For several days, the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the disqualification cases of Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs. However, due to delays in the previous case, the hearing could not take place today. The Chief Justice has granted Ajit Pawar and his 41 MLAs three weeks to respond to Jayant Patil’s petition. As for Shiv Sena, which is dealing with an older case, Eknath Shinde and his MLAs have already submitted their response in court. Therefore, both sides’ lawyers from Shiv Sena have been asked to prepare and submit their documentation.
Lawyer Siddharth Shinde provided an update on today’s proceedings, stating that no specific date has been set for the next hearings for Shiv Sena and NCP cases. However, it is expected that these cases will be heard in September. The Shiv Sena case will be heard directly in the Supreme Court rather than the High Court, and a verdict is anticipated either in September or October. The Supreme Court has instructed Ajit Pawar and his MLAs to respond within three weeks. The next hearing dates for both cases are expected to be announced shortly.
The Shiv Sena lawyers expressed a desire for expedited hearings, but the Chief Justice responded with frustration, suggesting that they come and resolve the scheduling themselves. The Chief Justice remarked that the court operates under significant pressure and assured that a date would be provided within 1-2 days. Following the split in Shiv Sena, the Thackeray faction filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision regarding the disqualification of MLAs. Similarly, Jayant Patil from the NCP has also approached the court. Narwekar had not taken any disqualification action against the Shiv Sena or NCP MLAs. Consequently, Sunil Prabhu from the Thackeray faction and Jayant Patil from Sharad Pawar's party both sought judicial intervention.