Difficult to set firm timeframe but will try to resolve matters at the earliest: Maha Speaker on SC verdict

In the wake of the Supreme Court verdict, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar on Saturday said he will endeavour to resolve matters in the state “at the earliest” but it was difficult to set a firm timeframe at this stage.

With reference to his statement welcoming the Supreme Court verdict this week which asked the speaker to complete the process in “reasonable time”, he said it was difficult to set a firm timeframe at this stage.

“It is difficult to set a time frame as there are multiple petitions and, above all, it is to be determined which political party is to be issued a whip,” Narwekar told PTI in London.

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“But the endeavour is to complete the process at the earliest,” he said.

The Speaker's UK visit concludes this weekend after an address to the Indian student community at the University of Cambridge on policymaking, parliamentary democracy and legislative functioning.

During his visit this week, the Speaker said he held meetings with UK-based industrialists and corporates to explore investment possibilities for Maharashtra.

“Maharashtra is one of the most industrious states of the country and attracts 30 per cent of UK investments into India. So we have an attractive offering for investors,” he said.

Earlier this week speaking to reporters from London, Narwerkar said he will give a hearing to all sides.

"I welcome the Supreme Court's ruling that has asked the Speaker of the Assembly to recognise a political party. I will try to complete it in a reasonable time,” he said. The process will have examination and cross-examination as well, Narwekar added.

He also claimed that the Supreme Court upheld his stand on the disqualification of MLAs. The court stated that it would be the Speaker's prerogative to take a call on the disqualification plea submitted against 16 MLAs including Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and others.

I have been consistently saying that it would be the Speaker who will decide (on this matter), he said. In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the three-party MVA government following a revolt by the Shinde faction in the Shiv Sena in 2022, a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud on Thursday held that the then speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of the Shiv Sena in the Maharashtra Assembly was "contrary to law".

The bench rejected the submission of the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena that the top court should adjudicate the pending disqualification petitions against Shinde and others on the ground that the incumbent speaker, Rahul Narwekar, is biased.

"This court cannot ordinarily adjudicate petitions for disqualification under the Tenth Schedule in the first instance. There are no extraordinary circumstances in the instant case that warrant the exercise of jurisdiction by this court to adjudicate disqualification petitions. The speaker must decide the disqualification petitions within a reasonable period," the bench said. The bench also said in the absence of exceptional circumstances, the speaker is the appropriate authority to adjudicate petitions for disqualification under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.