Shiv Sena battle: SC grants Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar time till Jan 10 to give verdict on MLA disqualification

livemint.com:

Rahul Narwekar to pronounce verdict on disqualification petitions of MLAs from both factions of Shiv Sena by January 10. The speaker is also expected to announce a decision on a disqualification petition against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Earlier, the Maharashtra speaker had sought some time to evaluate the details and information produced in front of him related to the petitions.

Two months ago, the Supreme Court had asked him to announce his decision on the matter by December 31. The apex court had also rapped Narwekar over delay in announcing verdict on MLA disqualification petitions. However, he sought two more weeks due to the large volume of documents generated during the hearing.

Also Read: Maharashtra News: ‘Na tired hu, na retired hu’, Sharad Pawar hits back at Ajit Pawar During the hearing which included 20 sessions with more than six hours each, the legislature produced 2.67 lakh pages of documents. These documents include 34 petitions from both camps and replies. According to a Hindustan Times report, the documents also encompass more than 1,100 questions and their replies by the witnesses.

Also Read: Maharashtra: Another NCP MLA joins Ajit Pawar camp Till now, Narwekar has completed the examination and cross-examination of the documents. Now, he is set to begin hearing the oral arguments on December 18. After two days of hearing oral arguments, the speaker would require the study and re-examination of documents, which will require more time, officials told HT.