In the ongoing Shiv Sena crisis, the faction led by Uddhav Thackeray approaches the Supreme Court challenging the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker's decision to issue a schedule for hearing of the disqualification pleas pending against rebel Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde.

According to the Uddhav Thackeray faction, the proposed scheduled for conducting hearings, scheduled to commence on October 6 and extend until November 23, is perceived as nothing more than an additional delay tactic.

If the schedule is followed, the speaker's ruling is likely to come out in December or even later than that. The Thackeray faction has asked for a faster hearing.

The Supreme Court of India has relesed the schedule on September 18 expressed its disapproval of the delay by the Speaker in deciding the disqualification petitions. The Court had said that the Speaker cannot delay the proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution indefinitely and that there had to be a sense of respect to the directions passed by the Court.

"What did the speaker do after the May 11 judgement by the court?", CJI DY Chandrachud had asked, referring to the judgment delivered by the Constitution Bench this year in which the Speaker was directed to decide the disqualification petitions within a "reasonable period".

The court observed that there are a total of thirty-four petitions filed by both factions, each seeking the disqualification of fifty-six MLAs, which are currently pending. In response to this, the bench has issued a directive that these petitions should be presented before the Speaker within a span of one week. Subsequently, the Speaker is mandated to provide procedural instructions to facilitate the completion of the record and establish a timeline for the hearings.

These directives were issued in response to a petition filed by Suni Prabhu, a leader from Shiv Sena's Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray faction. Prabhu's petition sought an expeditious resolution by the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker regarding the pending disqualification proceedings involving Eknath Shinde. This petition is based on the guidance provided by the Constitution Bench in its judgment on May 11, 2023.

In this landmark Constitution Bench decision, the Supreme Court ruled that it lacked the authority to order the reinstatement of the Uddhav Thackeray government since Thackeray had resigned without undergoing a floor test. Furthermore, the Supreme Court declined to exercise its powers under Article 226 and Article 32 to adjudicate the disqualification matter. Consequently, the Court delegated the responsibility of determining the disqualification petitions to the Speaker, emphasizing that the Speaker should make a decision within a reasonable timeframe.