The Supreme Court today said that the Maharashtra Governor was not justified in calling upon then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove majority in the Assembly on June 30 last year but refused to order status quo ante, saying he did not face the floor test and resigned.
In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray following a revolt by the Eknath Shinde faction, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud held that House speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of Shiv Sena was "illegal".
It, however, said since Mr Thackeray had resigned without facing the floor test, the governor was justified in inviting Mr Shinde to form government at the behest of the BJP which was the largest political party in the house. Speaking about the same, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that those predicting that Shinde govt will fall has been silenced because they will be dejected by the verdict.