Sharad Pawar vs Ajit Pawar: SC orders Maharashtra speaker to decide on NCP MLAs' disqualification by 15 February

livemint.com:

Rahul Narwekar time till 15 February to decide on the disqualification of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs affiliated to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar's group. The extension was ordered by a bench of justices comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The Supreme COurt bench took note of the submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the office of the speaker, that some more time will be needed to pass orders on the disqualification pleas.

Earlier, the top court had granted time till 31 January to the speaker to decide the disqualification pleas pertaining to the NCP MLAs who had switched sides to be part of the Eknath Shinde-led state government. "In his (speaker’s) order dated January 25, the speaker has indicated that cross-examination of the witnesses for respondents (NCP factions) could not be concluded and with consent of the parties following time schedule is prescribed and that matter will end on January 31 for orders. "We grant time till February 15, 2024 to finish dictation of the orders (by the speaker)," the bench said in its order.

A section of the erstwhile NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, broke ranks and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena coalition in the Maharashtra government. Ajit Pawar later took oath as the state's deputy chief minister and eight other NCP MLAs as ministers. Following this a plea was filed by Jayant Patil of the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party for a direction to the speaker to expeditiously decide the disqualification petitions against Ajit Pawar and MLAs loyal to him.