Difference of opinion in party not enough for Governor to call for floor test: SC in Shiv Sena case

The apex court said A leader of the opposition will always keep on writing that the government has lost the majority or MLAs are not happy, hence, a letter by the opposition leader does not matter in the instant case.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that calling for a trust vote just on the basis of disagreements between members of a ruling party can end up toppling the democratically elected government.

The apex court also pointed out that a Governor cannot misuse his office to effectuate a particular result. "Difference of opinion among MLAs within a party can be on any ground like payment of development fund or deviation from party ethos but can that be a sufficient ground for the governor to call for the floor test? Governor cannot lend his office to effectuate a particular result. Calling for a trust vote will lead to toppling of elected government," the bench said.

Before that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Maharashtra governor, narrated the sequence of events and said there were various materials before the governor including a letter signed by 34 Shiv Sena MLAs, a letter from Independent lawmakers withdrawing support to the Uddhav Thackeray government, and another of the Leader of the Opposition that prompted him to order a trust vote, according to a PTI report.

A leader of the opposition will always keep on writing that the government has lost the majority or MLAs are not happy, hence, a letter by the leader of the opposition does not matter in the instant case, the court said. The letter from MLAs that there was a threat to their security is also not relevant in this case, it said.

"The only thing is that a resolution of 34 MLAs which said that there was widespread discontent among the party cadres and legislators....Is this sufficient ground to call for trust vote? Although, in the hindsight we can say that Uddhav Thackeray had lost the mathematical equation.

"But the fact is governor cannot enter this domain which would precipitate the matter. People will start ditching the ruling party and the Governor will end up toppling the ruling party. This will be a sad spectacle for democracy," the bench, also comprising Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, observed.

The top court stated the governor should have questioned the (Shiv Sena) MLAs that they were in a "happy marriage" with the Congress and the NCP for three years and then suddenly what happened in a day that they wanted to go out of the alliance.

"Three years you cohabited in an alliance, and one fine day, you decided to divorce. The rebel MLAs became ministers in another dispensation. Governor has to ask these questions to himself. What were you fellows doing for such a long time and now suddenly you want a divorce," the court said.

BS Koshyari, who was then the governor of Maharashtra, had asked Thackeray to face a floor test to prove his majority. However, Sensing defeat, Thackeray had resigned,

On August 23, 2022, a three-judge bench of the top court headed by then chief justice N V Ramana had formulated several questions of law and referred to the five-judge bench petitions filed by the two Sena factions which raised several constitutional questions related to defection, merger and disqualification.

In a blow to the Thackeray bloc, the Election Commission declared the Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena on February 17 and allotted to it the bow and arrow election symbol of the party founded by Balasaheb Thackeray.

Shinde launched a rebellion against the party. Majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government led by Uddhav Thackeray. Shinde was in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM.

With inputs from PTI