Disqualification row: SC sets new deadline for Maharashtra speaker

Supreme Court directs the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rahul Narwekar to decide disqualification petitions on or before December 31 against MLAs including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The court declines the proposal of the Maharashtra Speaker that he could conclude proceedings on disqualification petitions by February 29, 2024.

Meanwhile, the top court asked the Speaker to decide by January 31, 2024 the disqualification petitions of the  Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) group led by Sharad Pawar against a group of rebel legislators led by Ajit Pawar faction.

On October 17, the top court granted assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar a final opportunity to give it a realistic time-frame for deciding the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs following a split in the party. The plea by Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Sunil Prabhu, who as the chief whip of the undivided Shiv Sena had filed the disqualification petitions against Shinde and other MLAs in 2022, alleged Speaker Rahul Narwekar is deliberately delaying the adjudication despite the verdict of the apex court.

Later, a separate plea was filed by the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) for a direction to the assembly speaker to expeditiously decide the disqualification petitions against deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and party MLAs loyal to him.