Hearing of rival Shiv Sena pleas in Supreme Court on February 14

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will start hearing on February 14 the pleas on the political crisis triggered by Shiv Sena rivals -- Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray groups.

A constitution bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha will hear the matter. 

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray group, told the bench that he would argue on the correctness of Nabam Rebia's judgment. He also said that to do so the matter has to be examined by a seven-judge bench. CJI Chandrachud said it was for the 5-judge bench to decide whether the matter should be referred to a larger bench. 

In Nabam Rebia, a five-judge bench ruled that a Speaker cannot initiate disqualification proceedings when a resolution seeking his removal is pending. On July 13, 2016, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court comprising Justices JS Khehar, Dipak Misra, MB Lokur, PC Ghose, and  NV Ramana unanimously held that the Governor’s powers to summon, dissolve and advance a session are within the scope of judicial review. 

CJI DY Chandrachud on Tuesday said that they can start the Maharashtra matter on February 14 and take the Assam(the Citizenship Act case) matter after that.

Issues outlined

The three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari, and Justice Hima Kohli, who had referred the petitions to the Constitution Bench, had framed the eleven issues for its consideration. Some of them included whether the notice of removal of the speaker restricts him/her from continuing the disqualification proceedings under Schedule X of the Indian Constitution as held by the Court in Nabam Rebia; what is the status of proceedings in the House during the pendency of disqualification petitions against the members; what is the interplay concerning the provisions of the Tenth Schedule; and the power of the governor to invite a person to form the government and whether the same is amenable to judicial review. 

Background

Earlier this year, the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra that comprised the Shiv Sena, the NCP, and the Congress collapsed after Sena MLA Eknath Shinde(now CM of Maharashtra) and 39 other legislators rebelled against the party's leadership. This later led to the division in the Shiv Sena with one faction headed by Thackeray and the other by Shinde.

The political crisis in the state escalated after the rebellion in the Sena and on June 29, the apex court refused to stay the direction of the Maharashtra governor to the 31-month-old MVA government to take a floor test in the assembly to prove its majority after which Thackeray quit office.

On August 23, a three-judge bench of the top court headed by then Chief Justice N V Ramana referred the matter to a five-judge bench raising several related to defection, merger, and disqualification.

The top court directed the Election Commission not to pass any orders on the Shinde faction's plea that it should be considered the ‘real Shiv Sena’ and be granted the party's poll symbol.