Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar has announced that he will hear the disqualification petitions filed against rival Shiv Sena factions led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former CM Uddhav Thackeray early next week. This comes after the Supreme Court directed Narwekar to establish a timeline for addressing the disqualification petitions within a week. The petitions concern the Sena MLAs who joined forces with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022.
Narwekar expressed his commitment to making a timely decision on the disqualification pleas but emphasized the need to avoid rushing, as it could lead to a “miscarriage of justice.” The hearings began last week, involving a total of 34 petitions with both factions represented by their respective lawyers.
In July, Narwekar issued notices to 54 MLAs, including CM Shinde and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, seeking their replies on disqualification petitions. Notably, notice was not issued to Sena (UBT) MLA Rutuja Latke, who was elected after the Shiv Sena split last year.
The disqualification petitions were initially filed by Sunil Prabhu, the chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena, against Shinde and 15 MLAs after they rebelled and formed a new government in June 2022. In May of this year, the Supreme Court ruled that Shinde would continue as the CM of Maharashtra and could not reinstate the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition government led by Uddhav Thackeray, as Thackeray chose to resign without facing a floor test in response to Shinde’s rebellion.
