Supreme Court Issues Notices to Eknath Shinde, 39 MLAs; Ordered To Reply Within Two Weeks

The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs from his faction, challenging the order of Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on the dismissal of disqualification pleas against them. The court has asked the MLAs to file their responses within two weeks.

The petition was filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of Shiv Sena. The petition challenges the Speaker's order, which was issued on January 10, 2022. The Speaker had held that the Shinde faction was the "real" Shiv Sena and that the MLAs from the Thackeray faction had committed defection.

The Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, took note of the submissions of senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Thackeray faction. The court also directed the Speaker to serve the notices to the MLAs at their respective addresses. The case is likely to be heard next in the Supreme Court on February 21, 2024.

Background

In June 2022, a group of Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde revolted against the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra. The MLAs later formed a new government with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Thackeray faction then filed disqualification petitions against the MLAs from the Shinde faction. The petitions were heard by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, who dismissed them on January 10, 2022. The Thackeray faction then challenged the Speaker's order in the Supreme Court.