The Supreme Court reserved its verdict till Tuesday after hearing the arguments of all the parties on Monday for the second consecutive day on a petition filed by the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress against the Governor's decision to invite the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra. The Supreme Court will pronounce its decision in this case at 10.30 am on Tuesday. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjeev Khanna heard the case for the second consecutive day on Monday. In a special hearing on Sunday, the court had directed the Center to produce documents of correspondence between Fadnavis and the Governor of Maharashtra at 10.30 am on Monday. The Solicitor General told the court that he had submitted both the letters to the court - one by Devendra Fadnavis to show support to the Governor and claim to form the government and another by the Governor to invite him to form the government. The SG said that in a letter submitted to the Governor on November 22 by NCP leader Ajit Pawar, he promised the support of the entire 54 MLAs of the Nationalist Congress Party. The letter mentioned that Pawar was the head of the NCP Party.
The SG read the letter sent to the Governor by Fadnavis, acknowledging that he had the support of 170 MLAs including 54 NCP MLAs. SG Mehta said, "The Governor acted before them on the basis of material. The court cannot question their discretion." He made it clear at the outset that he was appearing for the Governor's Secretary, as the Governor could not be called as a party in judicial proceedings. Earlier on Sunday, the Supreme Court, while hearing on Sunday, had directed the Central Government to present a letter of support given to the Governor in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court on Sunday directed the Central Government to present the letter of support in the court at 10.30 am on Monday, on the basis of which the Governor of Maharashtra decided to invite BJP to form the government.
Solicitor General Mehta's 3 main arguments:
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta handed over the letter of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to the Supreme Court.
On floor test: Tushar Mehta asked whether the decision of the Governor can be challenged in any petition under Article 32? The Governor waited till 9 November. When asked by the Shiv Sena on the 10th, it refused to form the government. On 11 November, NCP also refused. Subsequently, President's rule was imposed.
On the credibility of Ajit's letter of support: The letter to the Governor of Ajit Pawar had the signature of 54 MLAs. Ajit had described himself as the leader of the NCP Party in the letter. The governor did not need to examine the letter he had received. The decision to call Fadnavis for government formation was taken on the basis of the documents placed before him.
On opposition's demand for early assembly session: Of course floor test is the best, but no party can say that floor test should be done within 24 hours. Give us two or three days to file the reply. Pro-tem cannot interfere in assembly processes like election of speaker. The court cannot ask the governor to conduct a floor test within 24 hours. The Governor has given 14 days for this. It should be 7 days justified.
4 major arguments of Fadnavis's lawyer Rohatgi:
On government formation: Mukul Rohatgi said- Shiv Sena, which was with BJP in alliance before the election, left after the results. Subsequently, President's rule was imposed. Fadnavis later received a letter of support from the NCP. So he went to the Governor with the support of 170 MLAs. President's rule was lifted and Fadnavis was sworn in.
On NCP break: One Pawar (Ajit) is with us, one (Sharad) is with the opposition. There must have been some family dispute between them. It was not a matter of concern for us. On the allegation of misuse of MLA's letter: The current case is different from the Karnataka case of 2018. Here all the documents showing majority before the Governor were present. No one is saying that there was a mess with the signatures of the MLAs. The Governor gave all parties a chance. They made sensible decisions through the documents before them.
On the question of the court proving majority: Justice Khanna asked- Can Fadnavis prove majority today. Rohatgi said- The question is whether the court can give any interim order in this case. Can the court ask for a floor test in a given period of time. Not according to me. Rohatgi asked the court not to do a judicial review of the decision of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Shiv Sena lawyer Sibal's 2 major arguments
On imposing President's rule: Kapil Sibal said- What was the National Emergency to remove President's rule at 5:17 am and administer oath at 8 am? President's rule removed at 5:17 am. It means that everything was settled before 5:17 am.
On floor test: Floor test should be done in 24 hours in assembly. A senior member of the House completed it with a single ballot and videography. All happened in the dark of night. New opportunities are knocking at the door. Allow floor test to take place in daylight.
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