Narwekar may skip SC notice on disqualification proceedings

Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar may choose not to submit his reply to the Supreme Court on the progress of the disqualification proceedings against 54 MLAs from both Shiv Sena camps, officials at the legislature said. The state legislature has not replied to notices served by the apex court in the past and is consulting legal experts on whether the speaker's decision can be subjected to legal scrutiny. The speaker is expected to give two more weeks to 40 Shiv Sena MLAs to reply to the notices issued to them by the legislature. The state legislature is yet to begin the process on the disqualification petitions filed by the NCP against Ajit Pawar and eight ministers.

Assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar may choose not to submit his reply to the Supreme Court on the progress of the disqualification proceedings against 54 MLAs from both Shiv Sena camps, officials at the legislature said.

Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar arrives at Vidhan Bhavan on the second day of the Monsoon Session of Maharashtra Assembly, in Mumbai, Tuesday, July 18, 2023. (PTI Photo/Kunal Patil)(PTI07_18_2023_000208B) (PTI)

“The constitution says the legislature is not answerable to any court. In the past too, the state legislature has not replied to the notices served by the apex, and other courts. We have not taken a final decision on it, but we are consulting legal experts to determine if the decision taken by the speaker can be subjected to legal scrutiny,” an official, who refused to be named, said.

Giving examples, another official said, the state legislature recently did not pay heed to the notices issued by the top court in breach of privilege cases filed against Shobha De and Arnab Goswami.

On May 11, a five-judge bench headed by chief justice Dhananjay Chandrachud ruled that the speaker must take a call on the disqualification of MLAs within a reasonable period.

Meanwhile, the speaker is expected to give two more weeks to 40 Shiv Sena MLAs, including chief minister Eknath Shinde, to reply to the notices issued to them by the legislature after the Thackeray faction filed disqualification petitions against them, officials said.

The deadline to file the response ended on July 24.

“They had claimed that since the monsoon session was underway, they needed another four weeks’ time. However, we might give them two weeks, till the first week of August,” Narwekar said.

The speaker also said, “We have received replies from 14 MLAs from Sena (UBT) and scrutinising them. We want to hear each one of the 54 MLAs from Shiv Sena.”

Sena (UBT)’s whip Sunil Prabhu said, “We have submitted our replies of 242 pages each within the stipulated time. The Shinde faction is buying time as they want to delay the process.”

The state legislature is yet to begin the process on the disqualification petitions filed by the Sharad Pawar camp of the Nationalist Congress Party against Ajit Pawar and eight ministers owing allegiance to him.