The Supreme Court on Tuesday referred the battle between Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the "real" Shiv Sena to a Constitution Bench.
A three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana said the dispute raises "important constitutional questions relating to interpretation of Schedule 10 (anti-defection law) of the Constitution pertaining to disqualification, as well as the powers of the Speaker and the Governor and the power of judicial review".
The Bench highlighted that there were gaps in the court's earlier judgment in Nabam Rebia relating to the power of the Speaker/Deputy Speaker to initiate disqualification proceedings, when proceedings for his or her own removal from office has been initiated. This needed to be gone into by the Constitution Bench.
