Narwekar to decide key issues in disqualification petitions on Oct 20

MUMBAI: Will Maharashtra speaker Rahul Narwekar’s decision on the disqualification petition against chief minister Eknath Shinde and his MLAs come early or will the hearing drag on for months? The picture is likely to become clearer next week, as Narwekar is set to decide on key matters on October 20.

During the third hearing on the disqualification issue on Thursday, petitioners from the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) demanded that the petitions of both factions be clubbed together for the hearing and also sought permission to submit additional petitions regarding events that happened after the filing of the original petition on June 24, such as Eknath Shinde’s meeting the governor to stake a claim to forming the government on June 29. The Shinde faction’s counsels opposed this demand.

Narwekar, who has set a schedule to hear the 34 disqualification petitions, is expected to give the ruling on the demands from both sides on October 20.

During the Thursday hearing, Thackeray faction counsel Devdatta Kamat demanded that the petitions be clubbed, as the cause of action—the split in the party—and subsequent events during the political crisis were similar. He said it would help the speaker to deliver the ruling on time.

Shinde faction counsel Anil Sakhare opposed this demand since in their view the cause of action was different, “as events had taken place at different times”. “The petitions are related to the whip issued to the MLAs, the absence of legislators for the meeting called by the party and the act of the legislators during the confidence motion in the lower house,” he said. “The MLAs may have different views on each of the events and they should get the opportunity to present their say.”

Reacting to the Sena (UBT)’s demand to be allowed to submit additional petitions and points, Sakhare said that it was not the right time. “The speaker is expected to give his order on October 20 and depending on the order, they can submit them at a later stage,” he said.

The officer from the state legislature said that though the clubbing of the petitions would not be possible, as prayers in the petitions could vary from person to person, their grouping and categorisation according to issues could be considered. “Clubbing may pose a difficulty in adjudication,” he said. “It could be pointed out in the Supreme Court, which is hearing separate petitions related to the disqualification.”

The Thackeray faction slammed the ruling party, saying it was a tactic to delay the ruling. “They have realised that their MLAs will be disqualified and are thus resorting to these tactics,” said Anil Desai from the Thackeray faction. “We hope the Supreme Court will take cognisance.”