Thread by @barandbench

Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court to continue hearing the Maharashtra politics case involving the Uddhav Thackeray and Ekanath Shinde factions of Shiv Sena.

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena @mieknathshinde @ShivSenaUBT_

Senior Adv Harish Salve: It cannot be said in black and white in which situations the speaker should or should not act. we went to court saying that speaker did not give time to file the reply

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena @mieknathshinde… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Salve: defection is only when sizeable number defects

CJI: What is a sizeable number?

Salve: not for courts to see

CJI: So you invite split from the back door then..

Salve: that is irrelevant...

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Salve: even on this Kihoto would have to be relooked. yes we know there is a problem and the legislature has tried to address it. But to say that everything needs to be overturned by the supreme court and resgination of former CM needs to be set aside ..all these prayers dont… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Salve: Head counting is not in Raj Bhavan but in the floor of the house and Bommai verdict has made it clear. Governor cannot entertain people in raj bhawan and engage in head counting and this is to prevent politics from entering the raj bhavan.
#SupremeCourt… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Salve: can a mandamus be issued to the governor... a later judgment of this court answers it. On first principles also if the court sees Kihoto judgment on this..

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena @mieknathshinde @ShivSenaUBT

Salve: your lordship is being invited to embark upon a journey which is entirely political in nature and to speculate what would have happened if a trust vote took place then.

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena @mieknathshinde @ShivSenaUBT

Salve: this is a fiction which are you are being called to speculate and judge. If i am correct here then nothing lies in the first question. there is nothing wrong with Eknath Shinde being sworn in.
#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Sr Adv NK Kaul: internal dissent is the hallmark of democracy. saying that you represent the legislative party and not political party is a fallacy. resolution showed there was no faith in the political party head
#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Kaul: first this court was asked to bypass the speaker, then the election commissioner and then the governor. These are three independent bodies whom the party is asking to be bypassed.
#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena @mieknathshinde… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Justice PS Narasimha: the principle has to be formulated with respect to Speaker's decision. Difficulty arising because you are formulating principle of prima facie view. #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Kaul: today every decision on bills, funds disbursals etc has to be annulled because disqualification extends to the day when applications were moved. #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Kaul: we are being told that since a disqualification proceeding then a constituency goes unrepresented?

Justice MR Shah: you can say that whatever decided in between cannot be annulled but you cannot say that disqualification will not be from the date when application is… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Kaul: regarding concern of a timeline for a speaker stands answered in the Megh chandra judgment despite the reference made in sampath kumar judgment #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Justice Shah: so you are saying only in exceptional circumstances court intervene else let it be decided by the speaker

Kaul: that has been the constitutional scheme. Even in Rana's case. #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Kaul: If a governor is satisfied that a govt has lost confidence of the house, it is the duty of the governor to call a floor test..

Justice Hima Kohli: but how many times has the governor acted this way

Kaul: I will find out.. but even if not done before what is wrong with it… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Kaul: Nabam is the law of the land.. and it stands as on date. In Nabam I am instructed to say that a review was also filed raising the same grounds and interpretation of the then members and that review was also dismissed and so the question is can this be re-agitated now… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Sr Adv Mahesh Jethmalani: it is trite to say that every case depends on the facts..it is being argued that rebel MLAs were liable to be disqualified and that this court must set clock back completely annulling all decisions. whether you like nabam or not deputy speaker was bound… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Hearing resumes.

CJI: Counsel, we are privileged to have the Chief Justice of Kenya, Martha K. Koome in our midst. We were late because we were giving her a brief of the case We tried to be as objective as possible (laughs).

Sibal: Welcome, my lord.

#SupremeCourt

Sr Adv Mahesh Jethmalani continues submissions, reads from judgments.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: Notice of removal is from office of deputy speaker and not as member of legislative assembly. Article 181 itself does not prohibit a construction cannot act once a 179 notice is moved.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: Immediately after 14 day period he has to refer it to the house.

CJI: So this period when a speaker is barred from deciding on a disqualification Petition commences the moment a notice is given?

Jethmalani: Yes.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: 181 says speaker cannot preside over the house, that word is important. Regarding procedure in the house his is the last word, only governed by the rules.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: On a particular date when it is being voted, he can have unchecked powers. That is why his powers to preside are limited when there is a notice against him, so he cannot scuttle others. He can scuttle the entire removal procedure. I will brief my lordships at the… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jethmalani: Judgment in Nabam Rebia must be re-affirmrd and put on stronger grounds.

#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia

Jethmalani: Party whip can only be issued for actions in the floor of the assembly and not for actions outside the house.

#SupremeCourtOfIndia

Jethmalani: I just filed a document on constituent assembly debates during lunch.

CJI: Is it scanned?

CJI: Are not these submissions on the merits of the disqualification petitions? That is absolutely with the speaker, his jurisdiction.

Justice Narasimha: Yes.

CJI: Mr Sibal's arguments was this was a per se disqualification. Your argument had so far been do not go into… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Justice Kohli: Tell us the page number of the debate you cited. It has just been airdropped to us.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: Once the claim is made that we are the real Shiv Sena, that we have organisational majority or heft the speaker should desist from going further into disqualification till the ECI decides. Speaker can only go into legislative not the party scenario

#SupremeCourt

CJI: Mr Kaul has already made this point that it is not your case that there is a split. Therefore you do not need to lay it down.

Jethmalani: Question is what should be conducted of speaker then

CJI: You are saying he has no jurisdiction at all?

Jethmalani: Yes. He should… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jethmalani: Speaker ignored Nabam Rebia. Verification never communicated. You ignored a Constitution bench judgment on extremely flimsy grounds, never acted upon it. This is the real nub of the issue. Whole case is of deemed disqualification.

#SupremeCourt

Jethmalani: Factually you were not hindered because you tossed my notice in the dustbin. On 25th June, deputy speaker issued summons. Serious issue here, summons issued to 16 MLAs only for disqualification proceedings. For the first time they inform us on July 14 of Petitions… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jethmalani: But in arguments it is sought to be prorated that all 39 MLAs received disqualification notices. In every pleading there is no mention of remaining 23 MLAs, that is how the Court has been mislead. They served to 16 because they wanted to split the two camps. 16 would… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jethmalani: They referred to a disqualification Petition of June 27 in which others were not served. On facts, if they had been fair and said only 16 were disqualified, this discussion is academic. When government that necessity did not arise. Now you want to topple.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Jethmalani: This reveals malafides on parts of the deputy speaker in the extreme.

CJI: There was no speaker at all

Jethmalani: Please see the rules.

CJI: What does it say?

Justice Narasimha: you are referring to Kihoto to say that principles of natural justice cannot be violated, we get that #shivsenacrisis

Jethmalani: it does not behove a legislative assembly to say that rules framed under the assembly need not be followed and if that is the case then God save the country #shivsenacrisis

Jethmalani: in the present facts of the case, the Nabam Rebia judgment does not require any judicial intervention or re-look.. much higher than principle of defection is the principle of majority rule in this country #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Sr Adv Maninder Singh : I am on the conflict of interest point on the constitutional adjudication point of view which becomes much more higher than others. #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Singh: there cannot be and should not be any deemed disqualification. this is totally unknown to any civilised society norms and the suggestion is preposterous. Should not be entertained by this court #SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia #MaharashtraPolitics #Shivsena

Singh: if there is a vote in the house. there can be a whip or no whip.. any direction of a whip outside the house does not fall under 2(1)(a). so when there is no whip can speaker bring it under 2(1)(a) ... no. that would usurping of a non existing jurisdiction by the speaker… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

Singh: referring nabam rebia will only be an academic exercise. So that does not merit at all. #maharashtrapolitics

Sr Adv Singh concludes

SG Tushar Mehta to start arguments at 11 am tomorrow on behalf of the Maharashtra governor

Bench rises.

#SupremeCourtofIndia