Supreme Court’s big blow to Shinde government; Important orders regarding 12 MLAs appointed by Governor

New Delhi : The Shinde-Fadnavis government in the state has received a big blow from the Supreme Court. Because the Supreme Court has ordered that no steps should be taken till the next hearing regarding the appointment of 12 MLAs appointed by the Governor to the vacant posts. The order was passed by the Supreme Court after the appellants pointed out that a new list is likely to be sent now while the appeal on the question of the list sent to the Governor during the Uddhav Thackeray government was already pending.

Ratan Soli Luth from Nashik, who filed a public interest litigation against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in the Bombay High Court, has appealed to the Supreme Court against the High Court’s decision on August 13, 2021. While this appeal was pending, the Governor on September 5 sent back the list sent by the previous Uddhav Thackeray government to the current Eknath Shinde government. Therefore, while the question of the previous list is pending in the Supreme Court, there is a possibility that the new list will be sent to the Governor to fill those 12 posts, Ratan told senior lawyer C. U. Singh through Supreme Court Justice K. M. Joseph brought to the notice of a bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy. Taking cognizance of it, the bench has ordered that no steps should be taken regarding the appointment of Governor-nominated MLAs to those 12 posts till the next hearing.

The Supreme Court’s order has come as a shock to the state government, which is awaiting the appointment of 12 MLAs.

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What exactly is the controversy regarding the MLAs appointed by the Governor?

Under Article 173(3) of the Constitution, experts in the fields of literature, art, science, cooperative movement and social work are selected as MLAs nominated by the Governor on the Legislative Council. Accordingly, the State Cabinet took a decision on 29 October 2020 to recommend the names of 12 persons for the 12 vacant posts in June-2020 and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray sent a letter to the Governor on 6 November 2020. However, the Governor has not yet taken a decision under Article 173(5) of the Constitution. Ratan Soli Luth had pointed out to the High Court last year that this action of the Governor is in violation of the Constitution. A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Girish Kulkarni gave its decision on August 13, 2021 on that PIL.

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“There is no time limit given in the Constitution of India for taking decisions by persons holding statutory positions. While framing the constitution with the goal of progress and upliftment of the society in mind, the architects of the constitution may not have thought that in the future, a mindset of prioritizing self-interest over public interest may also arise. To entertain such a question of time limit in such a situation is actually torturing us. It does not befit the office and the dignity of the office for a person holding a statutory office to defend his act of inaction on the ground that there is no time limit. A person holding any statutory office should work to enhance the prestige of the office by focusing on resolving issues without giving rise to differences of opinion with the aim of moving the country forward,” the bench had expressed displeasure with the behavior of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. However, the bench had made it clear in its decision that it could not issue an order to the governor. Ratan appealed to the Supreme Court on October 25 last year. Since it is pending, the Supreme Court has clarified in the order that no steps should be taken regarding the appointment to those 12 posts till the next hearing.