[BREAKING] Maharashtra Crisis: Supreme Court refuses to stay floor test slated for tomorrow

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the floor test slated to be held at 11 am tomorrow morning in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly as per the direction of State Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari..The order was passed by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala on a plea filed by Shiv Sena whip Sunil Prabhu challenging the Governor's direction as arbitrary and motivated.The Court said that the results of tomorrow will be subject to the final outcome of the petition before the Court. "We are not staying the floor test We are issuing notice. You can file counter We will hear on merits along with other cases on July 11 The result of tomorrow will depend on final outcome of this petition," the Court directed..Maharashtra has been embroiled in political crisis after cabinet minister Eknath Shinde and a rebel group of MLAs left the State first for Surat in Gujarat and then for Guwahati where they have been encamped for more than a week now.Shinde group has expressed its displeasure with the alliance by Shiv Sena with the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party.It has claimed that it stands for the cause propounded by founder Balasaheb Thackeray and has named itself ‘Shiv Sena (Balasaheb)'.The Deputy Speaker of the Assembly had then served notice for disqualification on 12 of the rebel MLAs.However, they had then approached the Supreme Court challenging the disqualification notices as well as the appointment of Ajay Choudhari as Shiv Sena Legislature Party leader.The top court had on June 27, granted interim relief to Shinde and the rebel MLAs by extending the time to file response to the disqualification notice sent by the Deputy Speaker, till July 12. The deadline was set to expire at 5.30 pm on June 27.Subsequently, the Governor called for a floor test tomorrow prompting Shiv Sena to approach the top court.The plea by Prabhu stated that the issue of disqualification of Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) is directly connected with the issue of a floor test, but the Governor proceeded to ignore the same while directing a floor test in a jiffy."The Hon’ble Governor vide communication dated 28.06.2022 (which was received today i.e., on June 29, 2022 at about 9:00 am) has in complete defiance to the fact that this Hon’ble Court is seized of the issue of the disqualification proceedings, has in a desperate attempt to allow the members, who have incurred disqualification, a safe passage decided to hold a floor test on June 30, 2022," the plea filed through advocate Javedur Rahman said.Pertinently, the plea said the principle laid down by the top court in the case of Nabam Rebia, requiring the deferment of disqualification proceedings till the adjudication of the no-confidence motion moved against the speaker, cannot be extended to a situation where even a floor test that has the potential to bring down a government is allowed to be conducted.This would mean that delinquent MLAs who have erstwhile incurred disqualification on account of unprincipled defection are allowed to perpetuate their constitutional sin further and achieve their oblique motive in bringing down a government, the plea stated..Read more about the arguments by parties here.Read more about the petition here..[Read order]