The Uddhav Thackeray group’s senior attorney, Kapil Sibal, argued before a five-judge Supreme Court constitution bench on Tuesday that the case should be moved to a seven-judge panel to determine if the 2016 Nabam Rebia versus Deputy Speaker verdict was accurate.
A five-judge panel concluded in the Nabam Rebia decision that a Speaker cannot start the disqualification process while a motion to remove him is still on the table.
A five-judge constitution bench hearing complaints stemming from a number of petitions pertaining to the Maharashtra political turmoil earlier this year was presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.
The complaints concern the establishment of the BJP government in Maharashtra under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, the disqualification of rebel MLAs, and disputes regarding the party emblem.
Sibal said during the brief hearing that the Nabam Rebia decision regarding the Speaker’s removal needs to be taken into consideration first. He added, ‘The issue may have to be dealt with by seven judges. Let us address this bench on this.’
At this point, CJI Chandrachud stated that the decision to refer the case to the seven-judge bench is up to the five-judge bench, and arguments can be raised on this point.
Sibal urged the bench to decide this matter first before moving on to the main case.
After agreeing to the request, the CJI instructed the parties to make a brief statement of their positions on the matter and scheduled the hearing for January 10.
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