NCP Rift : Supreme Court Extends Time For Maharashtra Speaker To Decide Disqualification Petitions Against Ajit Pawar Group Till Feb 15

The Supreme Court on Monday(January 29) extended the time for the Maharashtra Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions filed by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) against the Ajit Pawar faction.

The bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra agreed to extend the time till February 15, 2024.

On October 30, the Court had directed the Speaker to decide as per the tenth schedule of the Constitution by January 31, 2024. Two days ahead of the expiry of the deadline, the Speaker approached the Supreme Court seeking three weeks' additional time.

Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta said that since the Speaker was occupied with deciding the disqualification petitions filed over the Shiv Sena rift, he is not in a position to comply with the timeline. SG said that the proceedings are otherwise over and the Speaker "realistically" needs three more weeks to dictate the order.

The Supreme Court set the deadline in a writ petition filed by NCP Sharad Pawar) group member seeking to direct the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions filed against Ajit Pawar group. 

The issue arose when a section led by Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel broke ranks with the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and joined hands with the BJP and Shinde Sena. Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister and 8 other NCP MLAs took oath as Ministers in the Eknath Shinde-led government in July 2023.

Case Title: Jayant Patil v The Speaker Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly W.P.(C) No. 1077/2023

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