The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker has been given more time by the Supreme Court to reach a decision on the disqualification petitions linked to the Shiv Sena dispute.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had directed for the pleas to be decided by December 31, 2023.

During the hearing presided over by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Speaker, informed the bench that the proceedings were anticipated to conclude by December 20, 2023. Yet, due to the extensive volume of approximately two hundred and seventy thousand documents necessitating thorough examination, additional time was requested.

The bench mentioned the Speaker's request for a reasonable extension of time and set a new deadline of January 10, 2024, for the resolution of the petitions.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had submitted:

"The speaker has said that on December 20, the judgement would be reserved and no further time would be taken. Hearings took place even during the assembly session. There are 2 lakh, 71 thousand pages. I'm seeking a pronouncement of judgement extension by three weeks. We won't ask for more.

The bench noted that the speaker had sought a reasonable extension of time and stated that the petitions may be decided by January 10, 2024.

During the last hearing, the court had specifically instructed the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker to resolve the disqualification petitions related to the Shiv Sena rift by December 31, 2023, and those tied to the Nationalist Congress Party rift by January 31, 2024.

Previously, the court had given what it termed a "final opportunity" to the Speaker of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, urging them to establish an efficient timetable for the prompt adjudication of the disqualification petitions. Earlier criticism was directed at the Speaker for setting an extended schedule, particularly in the Shiv Sena cases, prompting the court to demand a more suitable time estimate for these petitions. The bench had voiced dissatisfaction, expressing that the previously presented time schedule wouldn't lead to an immediate or foreseeable resolution in the disqualification proceedings.

The petition filed by Shiv Sena leader Sunil Prabhu was grounded in the Supreme Court's directive from the Constitution bench judgment dated May 11, 2023. This ruling emphasized the imperative for the speaker to adjudicate on the disqualification petitions "within a reasonable period," serving as the basis for Prabhu's petition.

Case Title: Jayant Patil v The Speaker Maharashtra State Legislative Assembly

W.P.(C) No. 1077/2023