NEW DELHI: It could be a ‘make or break’ day for Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the Shiv Sena faction led by him as a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court is set to pronounce on Thursday its verdict on a batch of petitions filed by rival Shiv Sena in connection with the Maharashtra political crisis. The bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud also comprises Justices MR Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha.

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What Is The Matter?


 


The Supreme Court bench is expected to decide whether Eknath Shinde and 15 other Shiv Sena MLAs could be disqualified for revolting against then CM Uddhav Thackeray in June last year.


Uddhav Thackeray had pleaded before the Supreme Court to step in after Shinde, backed by the opposition BJP, engineered a split into Shiv Sena and later formed a new government in Maharashtra with the support of majority MLAs.


What If Shinde Is Disqualified?


 


If Eknath Shinde is disqualified, he will have to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government will be disbanded.


In August last year, the top court’s three-judge bench had referred to a five-judge Constitution bench the issues involved in the petition filed by rival groups of Shiv Sena in relation to the Maharashtra political crisis.


The bench then said that some of the issues involved in the Maharashtra political crisis may require a larger Constitution bench for consideration. There are various petitions pending before the apex court filed by both factions of Shiv Sena. On June 29, 2022, the top court gave a go-ahead to the floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly on June 30.


It had refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor’s direction to the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to prove his majority support on the floor of the House on June 30. After the apex court’s order, Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as the Chief Minister and Eknath Shinde was later sworn in as the Chief Minister. 


Power Struggle In Shiv Sena


 


Amid a power struggle between the Shinde and the Uddhav factions, the Election Commission had allotted the Shiv Sena party name and its bow-and-arrow symbol to Eknath Shinde-led group. Thackeray's smaller faction was given the name Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) and the symbol of a flaming torch.


Senior lawyers Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued for Uddhav Thackeray's team in the court while Harish Salve, Neeraj Kaul, and Mahesh Jethmalani represented Eknath Shinde's camp.