Tag: Maharashtra MLC nomination row

  • Governor has constitutional duty to decide on MLC nominations in reasonable time: Bombay HC

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday said the Maharashtra Governor has a “constitutional obligation” to either accept or reject “within reasonable time” the proposal sent by the state cabinet to nominate 12 persons as Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs).

    Eight months had passed after the cabinet sent the list to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and this was “reasonable time”, a division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni said.

    This impasse has to be resolved, it said.

    It would be “eminently desirable” if the governor discharged his obligation without much delay as seats in the Legislative Council cannot be kept vacant indefinitely, the court added.

    Though a governor is not answerable to the court, “We express our hope and trust that the constitutional obligation is fulfilled and things will be set right at an early date,” the judges said.

    “If the saying ‘Everything happens for a reason’ is to be believed then we are sure that there was a genuine reason for the Governor to not say anything until now on the proposal.

    “However, it is the duty of the Governor to speak and let the Chief Minister know about his views within reasonable time on the proposal,” the bench said.

    The court’s ruling came on a petition filed by Nashik resident Ratan Soli Luth seeking a direction to the governor to decide on the nominations submitted by the chief Minister and council of ministers in November 2020, recommending 12 names for seats in the governor’s quota in the Upper House of the legislature.

    The state government, which had been made party to the petition, had demanded before the HC that the governor take a decision within 15 days.

    “In the present case, eight months have passed. This is a reasonable time according to us. It is important that the obligation of the governor in the present case is discharged without much delay,” the court said.

    “Should there be any misunderstanding or miscommunication between two constitutional authorities then these disagreements ought to be made known to each other so as to iron out the differences,” the HC added.

    The state government had argued that the governor should have accepted its proposal and he cannot keep his decision pending.

    Under Article 171(5) of the Constitution, those nominated by governor shall be persons having “special knowledge or practical experience” in respect of matters such as literature, science, art and social service.

    The delay by Koshyari in taking decision has become a major bone of contention between him and the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government in the state.

    Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had earlier this year taken a swipe at Koshyari, remarking that he hoped the government would not have to go to court on the issue.

    While the term of legislators from the governor’s quota in the Council expired in June last year, the cabinet sent its list of nominees only in November.

  • Governor obligated to accept or reject proposal in reasonable time: Bombay HC on MLCs nomination row

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Friday said Maharashtra governor has the constitutional obligation to either accept or reject within a reasonable time the proposal sent by the chief minister along with his council of ministers nominating 12 persons as Members of the Legislative Council (MLCs).

    A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice G S Kulkarni held that it was the duty of the governor to speak and let the chief minister know about his views within reasonable time on the proposal.

    The bench passed its order on a petition filed by a Nashik-resident Ratan Soli Luth seeking a direction to Governor B S Koshyari to decide on the nominations submitted by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the council of ministers in November 2020 recommending 12 names for the posts.

    The state government had expected the governor to take a decision on the proposal within 15 days.

    “In the present case, eight months have passed. This is a reasonable time according to us. It is important that the obligation of the governor in the present case is discharged without much delay,” the court said.

    “While it is true that the governor is not answerable to the court, we hope and trust that the constitutional obligation is fulfilled,” it said.

    Koshyari has been under fire from the ruling MVA alliance over the delay in approving the appointment of 12 MLCs.

    Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had earlier this year taken a jibe at Koshyari over the latter’s delay in announcing the names of the 12 nominees to the Legislative Council from the Governor’s quota, wryly remarking that he hoped the government would not have to go to court on this account.

    “The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had prepared a list of 12 nominees in adherence to the Constitution. The list has been sent to the Governor. But Koshyari has not yet taken a decision even after many months,” he had said.

    While the term of legislators (from the Governor’s quota) in the Upper House of the State legislature had expired in June last year, the three MVA partners Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress, had deferred sending its list of nominees until November.