Rift between Shivsena’s Uddhav and Shinde may come to an end today, 5 judges bench to take a final decision
The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court can give its verdict on the Maharashtra political crisis today i.e. on Thursday. The petitions were filed on behalf of the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena regarding the 2022 Maharashtra political crisis. The decision of the Supreme Court will come today regarding this.
A five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will decide the petitions related to the political crisis in Maharashtra that led to the fall of the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition government led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Justice MR Shah, Justice Krishna Murari, Justice Hima Kohli, and Justice PS Narasimha are also included in this constitution bench. The constitution bench had reserved its verdict on March 16, 2023, after completing the hearing on the related petitions. The final hearing in the matter began on February 21 and the verdict was reserved after hearing arguments from both sides for nine days.
The apex court, on the last day of the hearing, had wondered how it could restore Uddhav Thackeray’s government when the then chief minister had resigned even before it could face a floor test in the House. The Thackeray faction, during the hearing, urged the court to restore their government, following its 2016 verdict which restored the government of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki.
The Thackeray faction was represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Devdutt Kamat along with advocate Amit Anand Tiwari before the apex court. On the other hand, senior advocates Neeraj Kishan Kaul, Harish Salve, Mahesh Jethmalani and advocate Abhikalp Pratap Singh appeared on behalf of the Eknath Shinde faction. Whereas, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared on behalf of the State Governor’s Office.
Significantly, the apex court had on February 17 turned down a request to refer the petitions related to the Maharashtra political crisis to a seven-judge constitution bench.