'Maha Govt committed 'no illegality', SC should not order floor test'

Supreme Court

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi while arguing on behalf of BJP in Supreme Court appealed the court not to pass an order to fix the date for the floor test in Maharashtra Assembly and asserted that Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has committed no "illegality".

A three-judge bench of Supreme Court headed by Justice N V Ramana and comprising of Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna were hearing a joint plea of Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP against the decision of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari inviting BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to form the government.

"There is no need for the court to pass order today. There was no illegality in the Governor's decision. The court should not pass an order to fix the date of the floor test. The three parties here have no fundamental rights," said Rohatgi. "There are some things that are with the President which are not even open to judicial intervention," he argued.

While senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Congress-NCP demanded floor test saying, "Supreme Court has consistently ordered floor tests to be held immediately whether it's in Uttar Pradesh in 1998 or Karnataka in 2018. May the best person win, let's have the composite floor today or tomorrow."

"How can it be possible that who took oath yesterday claiming a majority, is today shying away from floor test?" asked Singhvi. Singhvi said that Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari didn't wait for Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena and rather acted in haste.

"Obligations of Governor is to form a prima facie satisfaction of the majority on a written document-document to have signatures, physical verification, satisfaction based on these things. This is the criterion. When the announcement was made at 7 pm that we are staking claim to form govt and Uddhav Thackeray will lead it, couldn't the Governor wait?" he said.

"How come Ajit Pawar becomes the Deputy Chief Minister with the support of only around 42-43 seats? It is the murder of democracy," he said.

At a time when deliberations among Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena on the formation of a non-BJP government in the state had seemingly reached the final stage, the BJP formed the government in a surprise development on Saturday morning when Devendra Fadnavis took oath for the second consecutive term as the state Chief Minister, while Ajit Pawar of NCP as his Deputy Chief Minister.

The BJP won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly followed by Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44.

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