The Supreme Court on Monday granted an extension of the deadline for Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to deliver his decision on issues related to the disqualification of MLAs from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The original deadline, set by the court in response to a petition from the Sharad Pawar faction of the NCP, was January 31. However, Narwekar requested an extension, leading to the court extending the deadline until February 15.
The petitions from the Sharad Pawar faction urged the Supreme Court to intervene and instruct the speaker to make a prompt decision on the disqualification pleas against the Ajit Pawar faction.
What did the Solicitor General say?
In response, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing Narwekar, informed the court that the speaker was currently occupied with adjudicating disqualification petitions involving Shiv Sena MLAs. He sought a "realistic" three-week extension to ensure a thorough review and a fair verdict on the NCP matter.
NCP vs NCP
In October 2023, the apex court issued a directive to the Speaker, instructing him to adjudicate on the disqualification petitions in accordance with the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti-defection law) by January 31, 2024. A faction of MLAs, led by Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel, had defected from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) under the leadership of NCP chief Sharad Pawar. They subsequently allied with the BJP, and Shiv Sena MLAs, under the leadership of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The official NCP reacted by moving a disqualification petition against Ajit Pawar and the 8 MLAs who joined the Shinde Government. In return, Ajit Pawar claimed that he had the support of majority of NCP MLAs and that he represents the 'real' NCP.
Praful Patel announced the appointment of Ajit Pawar, who was the Leader of the Opposition till July1, as the leader of the NCP legislative party in the assembly. Currently, the Election Commission of India is hearing a petition filed by the Ajit Pawar faction, staking its claim to the NCP party's name and its election symbol.
