Supreme Court To Hear Shiv Sena’s Plea Against Floor Test At 5 pm
Mumbai: Supreme Court has agreed to hear Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu’s plea at 5 pm on Wednesday against the floor test.
Prabhu challenged Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari‘s direction to CM Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on Thursday.
Allowing immediate listing, Justice Kant said, “Ultimately we may agree or we may not agree, but looking at the urgency, we feel that the matter should be heard today…We will keep the case at 5 PM. tentatively we are fixing 5 o clock.” Also Read: Shinde Visits Guwahati Temple, Says ‘Will Be In Mumbai Tomorrow For Floor Test’
Meanwhile, the court has asked the petitioner to complete the filing and keep the paper book ready by 3 pm. Singhvi told the court that the notice to conduct the floor test has come only this morning.
He said, “The floor test is illegal as it cannot include persons facing disqualification. I am requesting to list only this evening. Otherwise, the matter will become infructuous.”
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Eknath Shinde, opposed the request in his petition challenging the disqualification notice issued by the Vice President.
Kaul submitted, “It is the prerogative of the Governor to call for a floor test. In any case, the pendency of the disqualification application has nothing to do with the floor test. The Supreme Court has held so.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Governor was agreeable to the matter being taken up and requested that they be served with the copies. “It is lordships’ prerogative.
On Monday (June 27) senior advocate Devdutt Kamat had given an oral petition for an interim order against holding of floor test in the House till July 11, the next date of hearing of the petition challenging disqualification by Eknath Shinde and his rebel MLAs.
The Deputy Speaker has initiated action against him. However, the same bench turned down Kamat’s plea, saying it cannot pass orders on the basis of mere conjectures.
“Our apprehension is that they are going to ask for a floor test. This will change the status quo”, submitted Kamat, who represented Anil Choudhary and Sunil Prabhu, Legislature Party leader and Shiv Sena chief whip respectively.
The bench said if anything illegal happens, it can approach the court. Kamat urged the bench to record its oral plea in the order and make a specific observation that liberty has been given to approach the court.
Expressing disinclination to make any such observation, Justice Kant had said, “Do you need our liberty to approach us? Let us not create any complications on basis of apprehensions not founded now…
(With Live Law Inputs)
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