NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday gave further time to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar to decide disqualification petitions against Nationalist Congress Party leaders deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and other MLAs by February 15, 2024.
The top court had earlier fixed the deadline to decide the pleas filed under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution by January 31, 2024.
A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra granted further time, acting on an application filed by the Speaker.
On behalf of the Speaker, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that three weeks further time was required to decide the matter as cross examinations took time.
He said and the Speaker was occupied in deciding the matter related to MLAs of Shiv Sena.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi for NCP's Jayant Patil said only one week time may be given as it continued to happen everytime when the deadline comes to end.
The court, however, extended the time until February 15.
In October, last year, the apex court had directed the Speaker to decide the disqualification petitions as per the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution (anti defection law) by January 31, 2024.
Nationalist Congress Party, Sharad Pawar faction led by Jayant Patil had filed the plea in the apex court seeking a direction to the Maharashtra legislative assembly Speaker to expeditiously decide their petitions seeking disqualification of rebel MLAs led by Pawar under the anti-defection law.
A group of MLAs led by Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel had broken ranks with the NCP supremo Pawar and joined hands with the BJP and Shiv Sena MLAs led by Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, formed in June, 2022.
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