Shiv Sena Faction Challenges Speaker’s Decision in Supreme Court

New Delhi: The faction of Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray has moved to the Supreme Court, challenging Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar’s dismissal of disqualification petitions against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 38 rebel legislators. Describing the speaker’s decision as a “colorable” exercise of power based on “extraneous and irrelevant” considerations, the petition argues that it violates the anti-defection law and a Supreme Court judgment from May 2022.

The Speaker’s order, issued on January 10, declared the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena, a decision contested by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction. The petition asserts that the speaker’s reliance on “legislative majority” to determine the political party is a direct violation of the law established by the Supreme Court in the Subhash Desai judgment of May 2022.

The Thackeray-led faction contends that the speaker’s decision is “erroneous” and goes against the principles outlined by the Supreme Court. The faction emphasizes that the Shiv Sena experienced a vertical split in 2022 when Shinde and other legislators joined hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to form the government, leading to disqualification petitions.

The petition calls for an urgent listing of the case and solely names Eknath Shinde as the respondent. It argues that the Speaker’s decision is a “complete colorable exercise of power” and requests the Supreme Court to set aside the ruling. The faction asserts that the Speaker’s order fails to consider crucial aspects, such as the political alliance with Congress and NCP, and the alleged collusion with the BJP, urging the court to intervene and uphold the principles of the Tenth Schedule.