New Delhi, (Samajweekly) The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said it is time to relook at the Nabam Rebia and the Tenth Schedule verdict as it has created havoc, while urging the apex court to refer it to a seven-judge bench of the apex court.
The judgment restricted the power of the Speaker to decide disqualification petitions if a resolution seeking his removal was pending.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Thackeray-led faction, submitted before a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud: “It’s time for us to relook at Nabam Rebia and the 10th schedule because it has created havoc.”
He said the Tenth Schedule was supposed to serve the cause of political morality, however it is now subverting that.
He submitted before a bench – also comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha – that today, Tenth Schedule is being misused by all governments and it is being used to further political immorality.
The Tenth Schedule provides for prevention of defection of the elected and nominated members from their political party and contains stringent provisions against defections.
Sibal further stressed that there is also a need to reconsider the law laid down in the Nabam Rebia case.
During the daylong hearing, he claimed that the Shinde faction unlawfully appointed an Assembly Speaker who is completely biased against the Thackeray faction. He said the observations in the Rebia case fail to consider the unconstitutional consequences that may flow from the position that a Speaker cannot proceed with disqualification proceedings if notice for his removal is pending.
Sibal emphasised that it gave an escape route to constitutional sinners who commit the sin of defection and added that Shinde faction sought removal of the Deputy Speaker, who was then exercising functions of the Speaker, through a notice in June last year, as soon as they committed the acts constituting disqualification.
He pointed out that after the Shinde faction appointed their Speaker, the motion for removal of the Deputy Speaker has not been taken up in the Assembly so far.
The top court will continue on Wednesday submissions from senior advocate Harish Salve, who is representing the Shinde group.
In December last year, the Thackeray faction had asked the Supreme Court to refer the judgment in the Nabam Rebia case to a seven-judge bench of the apex court.
In August this year, a three-judge bench of the apex court had said that a five-judge constitution bench will hear a batch of petitions filed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray faction on queries related to defection, merger and disqualification.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, in its reference order, had framed first issue whether notice for removal of a Speaker restricts him from continuing with disqualification proceedings under Tenth Schedule of the Constitution, as held by the top court in Nebam Rabia (by a five-judge bench).
Thackeray suffered a major setback after Shinde and other MLAs rebelled against him and ousted him as Maharashtra CM. They also laid claims to the Shiv Sena party and its symbol as well.
