The Apex Court has expressed its disapproval of the then Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s move to call for a floor test to ascertain whether the Shinde or the Thackeray faction was in a majority without a no-confidence motion being passed, writes Mudit Mathur
A constitutional bench of five judges of the Supreme Court held that Uddhav Thackeray cannot be reinstated as chief minister of Maharashtra because he did not face the floor test in the assembly and had tendered his resignation. “Former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was not justified in calling upon Thackeray to prove his majority on the floor of the House because he did not have reasons based on objective material before him, to reach the conclusion that Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House,” It ruled.
“The political imbroglio in Maharashtra arose as a result of party differences within the Shiv Sena. However, the floor test cannot be used as a medium to resolve internal party disputes or intra party disputes. Dissent and disagreement within a political party must be resolved in accordance with the remedies prescribed under the party constitution, or through any other methods that the party chooses to opt for. There is a marked difference between a party not supporting a government, and individuals within a party expressing their discontent with their party leadership and functioning,” a bench of CJI Dr Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and Pamidighantam Sri Narasimha unanimously observed.
The Governor’s decision directing for a floor test to ascertain whether the Shinde or Thackeray factions were in a majority without a no-confidence motion being passed was held to be not justified but after the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray he was justified in inviting Eknath Shinde to form government. Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the governor to enter the political arena to play a role either in inter-party or intra-party disputes by using the floor test as a means to resolve intra-party or intra-party disputes.
“Even if it is assumed these MLAs wanted to exit the government, they constituted only a faction,” Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud declared in open court, making it mandatory for a no confidence motion to be passed against the government to justify a floor test which precipitated Thackeray’s resignation.
The Supreme Court held that the decision of former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to order a floor test based on the request of 34 MLAs of the Eknath Shinde faction was incorrect since Koshyari did not have enough objective material before him to conclude that the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had lost the confidence of the House.
