If there may be one one who holds all of the playing cards after the Supreme Court docket verdict within the Maharashtra political disaster case, it’s the Speaker of the Maharashtra legislative meeting, Rahul Narwekar.
Because of the structure bench judgment, Narwekar, a Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) chief, has emerged the unique authority to take a name on a spectrum of points — from deciding the disqualification petitions to figuring out the “actual” Shiv Sena; from recognising the brand new chief whip of SHiv Sena to notifying its chief of the Home.
In its 141-page judgment, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya y Chandrachud emphatically affirmed the election of Narwekar, even because it quashed his choices on July 3 to recognise Eknath Shinde because the chief of the Shiv Sena legislature celebration and Bharat Gogawale because the chief whip. On the identical time, the apex court docket left it to Narwekar to recognise the brand new chief of the Shiv Sena legislature celebration and the chief whip once more following an enquiry by him into the state of affairs when there might be two factions of the identical celebration (Shiv Sena).
Whereas the Thackeray camp claimed that Narwekar’s election was unlawful since he obtained the help of Eknath Shinde and the opposite insurgent MLAs, the highest court docket was emphatic that each member of the Home was entitled to take part within the proceedings of the Home till she or he was not declared disqualified following the process laid down below the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection regulation).
“An MLA has the proper to take part within the proceedings of the Home till they’re disqualified…The choice of the Speaker doesn’t relate again to the date when the MLA indulged in prohibitory conduct. The choice of the Speaker and the results of disqualification are potential,” declared the bench.
Noting that the constitutional sanctity of the proceedings in Parliament or the state legislatures can’t be set in a state of uncertainty, it additionally junked Thackeray’s plea that Narwekar’s place must be topic to the result of the pending disqualification petitions towards Shinde and the MLAs supporting him.
“For the above causes, the motion of the Home in electing the Speaker, Mr Rahul Narwekar, on 3 July 2022 will not be invalid merely as a result of some MLAs who participated within the election confronted disqualification proceedings,” mentioned the court docket.
It then went on to carry that since Narwekar has been duly elected by the MLAs when it comes to the process laid down below the 1960 Maharashtra Meeting Guidelines, he’s “the suitable constitutional authority to determine the query of disqualification below the Tenth Schedule”.
“We’re additionally unable to simply accept the choice submission of the petitioners to direct the Deputy Speaker to adjudicate the query of disqualification for the easy motive that the Maharashtra Legislative Meeting has duly elected the Speaker, who has been entrusted with the authority to determine disqualification petitions below the Structure. The Deputy Speaker can carry out the duties of the Speaker solely when the workplace of the Speaker is vacant,” mentioned the bench, leaving it to Narwekar to determine the disqualification petitions pending towards MLAs of each factions.
The court docket, in its verdict, quashed the popularity of Shinde and Gogawale because the chief of the Shiv Sena legislature celebration and the chief whip of the Shiv Sena respectively, noting that he didn’t conduct any train to ascertainof they have been duly authorised by the political celebration by way of a legitimate decision.
“In a contentious state of affairs comparable to this, the Speaker ought to have performed an impartial inquiry based mostly on the foundations and laws of the political celebration to establish the Whip authorised by the Shiv Sena Political Celebration,” mentioned the bench.
It directed that the Speaker shall acknowledge the Whip and the Chief who’re duly authorised by the Shiv Sena political celebration as regards to the provisions of the celebration structure, after conducting an enquiry on this regard and in line with the rules mentioned on this judgement.
Whereas deciding the disqualification petitions as nicely the popularity of the celebration leaders within the Home, the bench underscored that the Speaker will even decide who the “actual” political celebration is when there are two factions.
“Additional, the Speaker should not base their resolution as to which group constitutes the political celebration on a blind appreciation of which group possesses a majority within the Legislative Meeting. This isn’t a recreation of numbers, however of one thing extra. The construction of management exterior the legislative meeting is a consideration which is related to the willpower of this situation,” it mentioned.
The bench, nonetheless, clarified that the Speaker’s willpower of the actual celebration is a prima facie willpower and won’t influence another proceedings together with the proceedings earlier than the Election Fee below the Symbols Order.
It’s also anticipated that Narwekar’s choices in future are more likely to land on the court docket’s doorstep yet again with the Thackeray camp laying contemporary authorized challenges.