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SC to rule on Maharashtra floor test on 26 Nov
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- The Supreme Court on 25 Noc said it would pass an order on 26 Nov on the question of holding a floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly. “We will give our order at 10.30 a.m. tomorrow [November 26],” the Bench, led by Justice N.V. Ramana, said.
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- Governor’s office and the parties on either side of the State’s political divide agreed in the court that a floor test was “imperative” to determine majority, but differed on when it should be held.
- Court could not dictate terms to the Governor.
(1) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, through senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, told the Bench that a floor test in the next 24 hours was out of the question, and that the court could not dictate terms to the Governor.
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(1) The Bench observed: “In every case, the court has ordered the floor test to be held within 24 hours... The majority is not decided by the Governor, but on the floor of the House... Question is today whether the CM enjoys majority in the House. So a floor test has to be held.
(2) Rohatgi argued that all that the court could do now was to request Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to initiate a floor test within a “reasonable time”.
(3) Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Governor’s office, said
(a) the court should first give them “two or three days’ time” to file their replies to the petition filed by the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress combine, challenging the government formation on November 23.
(b) An immediate floor test would serve as an impetus to horsetrading.
(c) He also produced the Governor’s order inviting Mr. Fadnavis to form a government, Mr. Fadnavis’s letter to the Governor staking claim to form government, as directed by the court.
(d) He drew attention to Mr. Ajit Pawar’s letter, “enclosed” with the signatures of 54 NCP MLAs, supporting Mr. Fadnavis.
(e) He agreed that the Governor could not have indulged in a fishing and roving enquiry on November 23. “He acted in his discretion. He had absolute discretion.
Sources
The Hindu