Relief for Shinde camp, SC declines urgent hearing on plea to suspend rebels

Mumbai, July 01: The Supreme Court on Friday declined urgent hearing of the plea of Shiv Sena chief Sunil Prabhu seeking suspension from the assembly of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and 15 rebel MLAs against whom disqualification pleas are pending. The court will now hear the matter on July 11.

A vacation bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and J B Pardiwala was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that the plea needed urgent hearing due to the pendency of disqualification proceedings against 16 lawmakers including the chief minister. The bench agreed to hear the fresh plea on July 11.

On June 29, the top court had refused to stay the direction of the Maharashtra Governor to the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to take a floor test in the Assembly on Thursday to prove its majority after which the beleaguered chief minister Uddhav Thackeray quit office.

The rebel MLAs want that Shiv Sena withdraws from the ruling coalition of MVA, which also comprises Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

The Maharashtra legislature secretariat had issued summons to 16 rebels Shiv Sena MLAs, including Shinde, and sought a written reply by June 27 evening to the complaints seeking their disqualification.

Subsequently, Shiv Sena had submitted two letters to the legislature secretariat earlier last week, seeking disqualification of 16 MLAs including Shinde.