"We are happy with verdict: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Uddhav Thackeray vs Eknath Shinde case

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said, "We are happy with the verdict. It has proven that the democracy and judiciary is alive," he said.The Supreme Court, a short while ago, said that Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray cannot be reinstated as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra as he resigned from the post voluntarily without facing a floor test. However, it said that the then Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to call for a floor test that ultimately toppled the Uddhav-Thackeray-led MVA government was not in accordance with the law. The top court was dealing with the issue of disqualification of 16 MLAs belonging to CM Shinde’s Sena. The 16 MLAs, including Shinde, were sent disqualification notices for not attending a party meeting convened by the then CM Uddhav Thackeray despite the whip which was issued. In July, when Shinde sought a trust vote on the floor of the state legislative assembly, the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena combine got the support of 164 out of a total of 288 MLAs and became the chief minister.

Since June 2022, a constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud has been hearing a batch of petitions filed by both the groups from Sena. For the unversed, 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. If Eknath Shinde is disqualified, he will have to resign as Maharashtra Chief Minister and his government will be disbanded. 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.