The Supreme Court has extended the deadline for Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to make a decision on the disqualification pleas against NCP MLAs from the Ajit Pawar faction. The new deadline is set for February 15, as announced by the court on Monday. Last year, on October 30, the Supreme Court had directed the speaker to decide the petitions filed by Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar faction seeking the disqualification of nine MLAs from the Ajit Pawar group by January 31, 2024.
During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the speaker, requested three more weeks to pass the order on the disqualification plea. Mehta mentioned that the cross-examination of the respondents was still pending and would be completed by January 31. He stated that the speaker needed additional time to write the order, as he had been occupied with the petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for the Sharad Pawar faction, proposed that the speaker be granted one more week instead of the three weeks requested.
Taking all arguments into account, the bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra granted time till February 15, 2024, for the completion of the orders by the speaker.
The NCP witnessed internal rifts when Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel rebelled against party leader Sharad Pawar and joined the Eknath Shinde government, with Ajit Pawar assuming the role of deputy chief minister. In July 2023, eight MLAs from Ajit Pawar’s camp were sworn in as ministers.
Jayant Patil filed a plea requesting the speaker to expeditiously decide on the disqualification petitions against Ajit Pawar and his loyal MLAs.
As the deadline has been extended, the final decision on the disqualification pleas against NCP MLAs from the Ajit Pawar faction will now be made by February 15, 2024.
