Supreme Court extends deadline for Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide disqualification pleas against NCP breakaway MLAs to February 15

The Supreme Court on January 29 extended the deadline for the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the disqualification petitions against the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from January 31, 2024 to February 15.

The Supreme Court on January 29 extended the deadline for the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the disqualification petitions against the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction headed by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar from January 31, 2024 to February 15.

The apex court had in October last year given Mr. Narwekar, acting as a tribunal under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution, till January 31 to hear and decide the nine disqualification petitions against the Ajit Pawar camp.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Speaker’s office, informed a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D. Y. Chandrachud on January 29 that the tribunal would conclude disqualification proceedings on January 31 and would need three weeks to “dictate” its order.

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Senior advocate A. M. Singhvi, for petitioner-Sharad Pawar loyalist Jayant Patil, said three weeks for dictation of an order was just too much. “My Lords may give the Speaker a week,” Mr. Singhvi suggested. The Supreme Court gave the Speaker time till February 15.

The Speaker had on January 10 dismissed similar disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule in 34 petitions against Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and supporting MLAs, while upholding their claim to be the “real” Shiv Sena. The Uddhav Thackeray faction too had approached the apex court, alleging that the Speaker was delaying the proceedings. The Supreme Court had directed the Speaker, in his capacity as a tribunal, to decide the petitions concerning Shiv Sena factions first, followed by the NCP ones.

The Sharad Pawar camp had filed disqualification petitions against 40 MLAs for anti-party activities following Ajit Pawar’s split from the NCP to join the coalition government under Mr. Shinde to share Deputy Chief Ministership with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.