TNI Bureau: The Supreme Court observed the deviation in the government process in Maharashtra while questioning the Speaker’s role in appointing the Whip of Shinde Camp. However, it refused to grant any relief to Uddhav Thackeray since he had resigned without facing the floor test.

Since Uddhav Thackeray did not face the Floor test and tendered his resignation, the Governor was justified in administering the oath to Eknath Shinde with the support of BJP.

The Speaker’s decision to appoint Gogawale (Shinde group) as chief Whip of the Shiv Sena party was illegal,” said the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court also held that the exercise of discretion by the Maharashtra Governor was not in accordance with the Constitution of India as he relied on the resolution of a faction of MLAs of Shiv Sena to conclude that Uddhav Thackeray had lost the support of the majority of MLAs.

The apex court said that the Governor had no objective material to doubt the confidence of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government and call for a Floor test.

“The floor test cannot be used to resolve internal party disputes. Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the Governor to enter the political arena and play a role either in inter-party or intra-party disputes”, observed the Supreme Court.

This verdict came as a moral victory for Uddhav Thackeray, but Eknath Shinde-BJP government got a huge relief and survived.

The Supreme Court also refused to intervene in ECI’s decision to grant symbols to both Shiv Sena factions and observed that no faction can claim to be original.