The Supreme Court on Tuesday posted for February 14 the hearing on a batch of petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena factions led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray.
The pleas pertain to the political crisis that followed the bulk desertion of rebel Sena MLAs and eventually resulted in the demise of the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
The apex court will, from February 14, start hearing arguments on whether the matter should be heard by a seven-judge bench or a five-judge bench.
Earlier, on December 13, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Uddhav faction, told the apex court that he would argue in favour of the reference of the matter before a seven-judge bench.
"It has been agreed that Mr. Sibal shall circulate a brief note of his submission on proposed reference to a seven-judge bench. The note shall be submitted two weeks in advance to Governor of Maharashtra and private respondents," the bench stated in its order.
The top court also noted that other parties can also make a note of their submissions.
On July 13, 2016, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, during a hearing in the Nabam Rebia case, held that the Speaker cannot initiate disqualification proceedings when a resolution seeking his removal is pending.
Earlier, the Uddhav faction submitted in the apex court that an unconstitutional government was running Maharashtra.
In August, the top court's three-judge bench had referred the issues in the petition, filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis, to a five-judge Constitution bench.
It had said some of the issues might require the consideration of a larger Constitution bench.
The bench also asked the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Rahul Narwekar, not to take any action on the new disqualification notices issued against the members of the Uddhav Sena.
Several petitions filed by both factions of the Shiv Sena are currently pending arbitration by the top court.
( With inputs from ANI )
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