Sena disqualification pleas: SC gives Maharashtra speaker 10 more days

The Supreme Court on Friday granted 10 more days to Maharashtra assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide the cross-petitions filed by the rival factions of the Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs.

The top court, which extended time till January 10, next year, had earlier asked the speaker to decide the disqualification pleas by December 31.

"The speaker has indicated that the proceedings will be closed on December 20 and the speaker had sought a reasonable extension of time. Bearing in mind the time limit laid out earlier, we grant extension of time till January 10, 2023 for the speaker to deliver judgment," a bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said.

The top court was hearing two petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena and the Sharad Pawar bloc of the Nationalist Congress Party, seeking a direction to the speaker to expeditiously decide disqualification proceedings against some MLAs.

The bench had on September 18 directed the speaker to spell out the time table for adjudication of the disqualification petitions against Eknath Shinde and Shiv Sena MLAs owing allegiance to him who had tied up with the BJP to form a new government in June 2022.