Sena vs Sena Supreme Court judgment: The Supreme Court on Thursday (May 11) ruled that Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra can't be restored as the then Chief Minister had resigned on his own last year amid a huge drama that resulted in a vertical split in Shiv Sena.
The Supreme Court noted that it can't disqualify 16 Shiv Sena MLAs, including Eknath Shinde who led the revolt against Uddhav Thackeray in June last year.
Criticising the stance of the Governor, the SC held that the exercise of discretion by Bhagat Singh Koshyari was not in accordance with the Constitution of India. CJI ruled that there were no communications relied on by the Governor indicating that the dissatisfied MLAs wanted to withdraw support to the government.
"If the Speaker and the government circumvent the no-confidence motion, the Governor will be justified in calling for a floor test without the aid and advise of the council of ministers...The assembly was not in session when the Leader of the Opposition Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Government. The opposition parties did not issue any no-confidence motion. The Governor had no objective material to doubt the confidence of the Govt," the top court said.
The Governor erred in relying on the resolution of a faction of MLAs of Shiv Sena to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray had lost the support of the majority of MLAs. Supreme Court says the Speaker must decide on disqualification petitions within a reasonable time.
'Appointment of Bharat Gogawal as chief whip illegal'
The Supreme Court also said that Shinde's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale as chief Whip of Shiv Sena was illegal. "Only the Speaker can recognise the Whip and the leader elected by the political party," the court said.
