The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant interim relief to the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision recognizing the merger of six of its MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, but agreed to examine the legality of the move by issuing notice on the party’s plea.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe refused to stay on the Speaker’s circular reflecting the party’s revised strength in the Lok Sabha for the time being, despite the Sena (UBT) claiming that the decision has paralyzed its work during the ongoing monsoon session of Parliament. The court agreed to hear the appeal and requested answers from the official of the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the six representatives.
Also Read: Shiv Sena (UBT) moves Supreme Court against Speaker’s approval to merge six MPs with Shinde camp
Sena (UBT) alleges unconstitutional merger
While appearing for the Sena (UBT), senior advocates Abhishek M Singhvi and Devdath Kamat argued that the matter raised important constitutional issues related to anti-defection law and parliamentary democracy. “This raises important questions about constitutional ethics. Six out of nine MPs were elected on party symbol. There are no disqualification proceedings pending. The issue of merger did not arise as per the judgment in the Subhash Desai case,” Singhvi said.
Kamat asserted that the Speaker admitted the merger without legal basis and referred to the Lok Sabha Secretariat circular issued after the decision. “See the circular please. It says: ‘As a result of the change in party affiliation of six Shiv Sena UBT members, the party’s position has been modified…’ We don’t even know if the Speaker has signed any order. I had nine members of Parliament. Now I have been reduced to three. ‘These six have taken the decision unilaterally,’ Kamat said. The bench sought to ascertain the underlying grievance. ‘Do you mean there was no merger?’ asked Justice Narasimha.
Kamat responded in the affirmative and demanded a temporary halt to the post, stating that the developments had been timed to coincide with the current Parliament session.
“I pray for an interim order. The whole matter has been coordinated for the Parliament session. The House of Lords may consider the matter next week,” Kamat said, adding, “All these matters will be defeated with time.”
Read also: ‘Consent is illegal’: Sena-UBT after Speaker approves merger of six rebel MPs with Shinde camp, says it will challenge the move
Court refuses interim relief
But the court refused to intervene at this stage. The jury responded: “We will issue notice. Not temporary.”
When Kamat sought notice also on the interim application due to urgency, the bench replied that the matter would be listed after next week. During the hearing, the bench referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Amar Singh case and observed that the case had already been referred to a larger bench and had remained undecided since 2017.
Also Read: Merger of 6 UBT MPs with Shinde Sena gets nod from Lok Sabha Speaker
Six representatives defend the decision of the Speaker of the House of Representatives
Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, who represented the six MPs who defected to the Shinde faction, opposed the petition, stating that the contentions of the petitioner regarding the legislature party and the merger were answered by the previous judgments of the Supreme Court.
The petition challenges Speaker Om Birla’s decision, taken before the monsoon session, recognizing the merger of six Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra MP CM Shinde. The six MPs are Sanjay Deshmukh (Yavatmal-Washim), Sanjay Jadhav (Parbhani), Sanjay Dina Patel (Mumbai North East), Nagesh Patel Ashtekar (Hingoli), Umraji Nepalkar (Dharashiv), Bhausaheb Wakshuri (Shirdi).
The strength of the Shinde-led Sena in the Lok Sabha then increased from seven to 13 MPs, while the Thackeray-led faction was reduced from nine to three.
Also Read: Om Birla gives nod to merger of Uddhav rebels with Shinde Sena, TMC rebels with NCPI
