The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant an urgent hearing to a plea by the Uddhav Thackeray camp to decide on the pending disqualification proceedings against 16 lawmakers, including the newly-appointed Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
The court posted a plea of Shiv Sena chief whip Sunil Prabhu on July 11 when all other petitions on the Maharashtra issue are listed.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Prabhu, urged a vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala that the interim plea needed an urgent hearing due to the pendency of disqualification proceedings against the 16 lawmakers.
“I am sorry for the trouble...We have filed an application. Your Lordships on June 29 passed an order, thereafter Shinde was sworn in as Chief Minister. The problem that faces the Assembly and all of us is that as to how the votes have to be counted as there is no merger under the 10th schedule of the Constitution,” the senior lawyer said.
“Both sides (of Shiv Sena) are going to issue a whip. How are we going to control the proceedings of the House? Whose whip is going to be counted? He (Shinde) is not the party and that matter can only be decided by the Election Commission. Ex-facie, this is not the dance of democracy,” he said.
The bench said it was “fully conscious of the issue. “We will look into the issue,” it said.
