Pune advocate Asim Sarode cites SC ruling in Telangana MLAs’ defection case, predicts ‘major political upheaval’ in Maharashtra

The Supreme Court has asked the Speaker of the Telangana Assembly to decide petitions seeking the disqualification of 10 Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLAs who had defected to the ruling Congress expeditiously and not later than three months.

Shiv Sena (UBT) chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut concurred. “There will be a major political upheaval, not just in Maharashtra, but in the country as well,” he said.

“The apex court has urged Parliament to reconsider whether the Assembly Speaker should be allowed to decide on the disqualification petition. The Supreme Court also asked Parliament to reconsider whether the authority given to Speaker to decide disqualification petitions was conducive to curbing political defections,” he said.

Sarode also pointed out that the Supreme Court had pointed out that the Speaker delayed issuing notice on the petitions seeking disqualification for almost seven months.

“This is exactly what happened in the case of Maharashtra. Because of the delayed decision in the case, the defected MLAs reaped the benefits so much so that the term of the Assembly got over and the MLAs escaped unscathed,” he added.

In 2022, a faction led by Eknath Shinde had split from the Shiv Sena after revolting against Thackeray. The rebellion had led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition, paving the way for the BJP to form the government with the Shinde Sena.

“The apex court has said either we should take the Tenth Schedule [of the Constitution] seriously or it should be reconsidered if we do not want to follow it. The Supreme Court will have to keep the same view in the Maharashtra case as well. If it does, then [Eknath] Shinde’s claim will fail,” he said.

Claiming that Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar was not “eligible to decide the matter”, Sarode pointed out that Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai had said that he would not take up any government post after retirement. “This is significant as judges always look for some posting from the government after retirement. This means the CJI will not leave before delivering an unprecedented verdict,” he said.

Sarode also alleged that there was a visible panic in the Shinde camp. “The number of trips he is making to Delhi reveals a lot,” he said, adding that the BJP does not seem to be in favour of Shinde now.

Sarode said the final hearing was likely after September 23. “But if the Supreme Court decides to refer the matter to a larger bench, there will be a delay again,” he said.

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