Submit Maharashtra Governor letter on govt formation today: SC to Centre

Apex court likely to set date for floor test; also asks for letters Fadnavis gave to form government

The Supreme Court on Sunday asked the Centre to place before it by 10.30 am on Monday morning the letter of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari inviting Devendra Fadnavis, as also the letters the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader submitted, staking his claim to form the government in the state, including the letter of support that Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP’s) Ajit Pawar furnished.

The court agreed with senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singh, who represented the NCP and the Congress, that immediate floor test even without secret ballot was the only solution to prove majority in the House. The Supreme Court Bench said, “Nobody is disputing that. It is a settled principle that floor test is the ultimate test.”

The Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress had together moved the Supreme Court on Saturday to demand that the court direct the Fadnavis government to undertake floor test within 24 hours. These parties question the November 30 date that the governor had ostensibly set for the floor test, alleging that the governor has not issued any official statement fixing it to be the date for the floor test.

A three-judge Bench headed by Justice N V Ramana said the plea of post-poll alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi, seeking quashing of the governor’s November 23 order inviting Fadnavis, and a direction to the governor to invite them instead under the leadership of Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray would not be considered at present.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for the Shiv Sena, said that the way President’s rule was revoked in the state at 5.17 am was “bizarre”, as no Cabinet meeting was held and it was not clear as to on what basis the governor recommended it.

Singhvi said 41 of 54 elected MLAs of NCP are not with Ajit Pawar. He said these legislators have sent a signed letter to the governor in which they clearly said that Ajit Pawar is no more in the party and the support letter given by him to Fadnavis was “illegal”. However, there is no clarity if the NCP has expelled Ajit Pawar from the party.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing some BJP MLAs, said the governor’s decision to call a political formation to form the government is part of his discretionary power under Article 361 which is immune to judicial review. “But the governor cannot just invite anybody,” Justice Ramana observed.