The Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena made an impassioned plea before the Supreme Court on Thursday for setting aside then Maharashtra Governor B S Koshyari’s June 2022 order to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to take a floor test, asserting democracy will be in danger if it is not overturned.
Senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray bloc, urged a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud to rescind the order, a day after the apex court questioned Koshyari’s conduct in calling for a trust vote merely on the ground of differences between Shiv Sena MLAs.
It had said on Wednesday such action by the governor can topple an elected government and that the governor of a state cannot lend his office to effectuate a particular result.
Concluding his rejoinder arguments, Sibal told the bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, it’s a moment in the history of this court when the future of democracy will be determined.
“I am absolutely certain that without the intervention of this court our democracy will be in danger because no elected government will be allowed to survive. It is with this hope I make this plea to this court to allow this petition and set aside the order (of floor test) of the governor,” Sibal said.
The apex court is hearing arguments on the events that unfolded during the June 2022 political crisis triggered by a revolt in the then undivided Shiv Sena by MLAs loyal to Eknath Shinde.
