New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India has ruled that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be allowed to keep his job and his government, dealing a major setback to Uddhav Thackeray over the Shiv Sena mutiny from last year.
The apex court stated that it could not disqualify Shinde and 15 other MLAs for revolting against Thackeray in June 2022, and rejected a request to restore Thackeray’s government since he had chosen to resign instead of facing a test of strength in the assembly.
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However, the court censured then Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, saying he had “erred” in concluding that Thackeray had lost the support of the majority of MLAs.
Uddhav Thackeray had approached the Supreme Court after Shinde, backed by the opposition BJP, split the Shiv Sena and led most of the MLAs to form a new government.
If Shinde had been disqualified, he would have had to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government would have been disbanded.
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It may be mentioned that Uddhav Thackeray had resigned last year without proving the floor test.
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The decision was delivered by a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, who clustered eight petitions on the face-off.
Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued for Thackeray’s team in the court while Harish Salve, Neeraj Kaul, and Mahesh Jethmalani represented Shinde’s camp.
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The ruling has significant implications for Maharashtra politics, with the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance claiming to have 184-plus votes in the 288-member assembly and the ability to prove its majority if needed, according to Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
In February, the Election Commission awarded the Shiv Sena party name and its bow-and-arrow symbol to Shinde, while Thackeray’s smaller faction was given the name Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray and the symbol of a flaming torch.