Mumbai, May 11: In a major setback to Uddhav Thackeray and his team, the Supreme Court on Thursday said that current Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde will get to keep his job, even though Maharashtra Governor did not act in accordance with law.
The apex court held that the Maharashtra Speaker’s decision to appoint Bharatshet Gogawale, who was backed by the Shinde faction, as the Whip of the Shiv Sena party was illegal, Live Law reported on Thursday.
A constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud on Thursday held that it cannot order the restoration of Uddhav Thackeray’s government as he resigned without facing the floor test.
The five-judge Constitution Bench, comprising CJI Chandrachud and Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha, on Thursday said, The governor had no objective material in calling for a floor test. “If the Speaker and the government circumvent the no-confidence motion, the Governor will be justified in calling for a floor test without the aid and advise of the council of ministers…The assembly was not in session when the Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis wrote to the Government. The opposition parties did not issue any no-confidence motion. The Governor had no objective material to doubt the confidence of the Govt,” he said.
A floor test cannot be used as a medium to resolve inter-party disputes or intra-party disputes, the bench said. “Even if it is assumed that the MLAs wanted to exit the govt, they constituted only a faction There is a marked difference between the party not supporting the government and the individuals not supporting it. Neither the Constitution nor the law empower the Governor to enter the political arena and play a role either in inter-party or intra-party disputes,” the bench said on Thursday.
The beach added the Governor could not have relied on security concerns. The Governor ought not to rely on the letter which states that Thackeray has lost the majority. It added that the other faction should have moved a no-confidence motion.
