SC gives Maha Speaker 'final opportunity' for schedule on defection pleas

New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave the Speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly a final opportunity to provide a realistic schedule for deciding the pending defection petitions filed by the two rival factions of the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray and CM Eknath Shinde against each other.

A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud accepted the submission of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta who assured the court that he would personally engage with the speaker during Dussehra vacation.

The court will again hear the pleas seeking expeditious decision by the Speaker in the disqualification proceedings against Shiv Sena MLAs on October 30.

After SG Mehta sought more time from the court for the Speaker to decide the timeline, the CJI pulled up Mehta on the Speaker's recent interview.

"He has to decide Mr SG...meanwhile he's giving interviews that we are a co-equal branch of the government..."

Speaker Narwekar on Saturday, said that it was his duty to maintain the sovereignty of the legislature and that the Constitution has given equal place to the judiciary, legislature, and executive and no one has any superintendence over the other.

The Supreme Court on Friday came down heavily on the Speaker for the delay in hearing and deciding the disqualification petitions filed by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction).

Following the split in the party, two factions of Shiv Sena filed petitions against each other under the anti-defection law. Jayant Patil of NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) also had filed a petition in the apex court against the delay by the Maharashtra Speaker in hearing the defection pleas following a split in the NCP.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Chandrachud, and Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra on Friday said that the Speaker should take a decision on the matter at least before the next Lok Sabha elections and should not render the issue infructuous by delaying it.

"I'm concerned about maintaining the dignity of our court," the CJI said.

The CJI had conveyed displeasure regarding the Speaker's conduct to SG Mehta and warned that the court would pass a peremptory order setting down a timeline if a hearing schedule was not put in place.