New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will decide by August 8 whether to refer to a 5-judge bench the constitutional questions on disqualification of MLAs arising from Maharashtra political imbroglio because of rebellion within Shiv Sena that led to the toppling of MVA government headed by Uddhav Thackeray.
A bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana said it would take a call by Monday on referring the matters related to the recent Maharashtra political crisis to a constitution bench, Times of India reported.
“We will decide whether to refer the matter to the 5-judges constitution bench,” the bench, also comprising justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli, said, as per the report.
The top court asked the Election Commission (EC) not to precipitate the dispute as to which faction – Shinde or Thackeray – represents the original Shiv Sena till further orders.
While the Eknath Shinde faction moved EC seeking recognition as real Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray camp said that few MLAs cannot decide about the entire party.
“If the Thackeray faction seeks time to file a response to its notices on Shinde-faction’s petition, it should be considered keeping in mind the views expressed by the apex court,” the SC-bench told EC.
The apex court was hearing the petitions filed by the Shiv Sena and its rebel MLAs during the recent Maharashtra political crisis which raised constitutional issues including those related to splits, mergers of political parties, defections, and disqualifications.
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