Supreme Court issues notice to Ajit Pawar group on plea against Maharashtra Speaker decision over 'real NCP'

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and his supporting MLAs on a plea by Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) challenging validity of the Speaker's decision declaring the group led by the rebel leader as the real NCP.

A bench of Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra sought a response from the Ajit Pawar group and decided to hear the matter along with a similar matter filed by Shiv Sena UBT's group against Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and other MLAs.

Senior advocate Abhishek M Singhvi, appearing for Jayant Patil and others of Sharad Pawar group, submitted that the matter was required to be considered urgently in view of the short remnant tenure of the state Assembly, which is to expire by November, this year.

"We will issue notice, all objections including on grounds of maintainability will be decided at final disposal," the bench said.

On February 15, Maharashtra Speaker Rahul Narwekar had held that the NCP faction led by Ajit Pawar, who rebelled against his uncle Sharad Pawar and joined the BJP-Shiv Sena government, was the real Nationalist Congress Party.

He had rejected the disqualification petitions filed by the rival groups seeking disqualification of each other's MLAs.

The Speaker had declared the events that unfolded between June 30 and July 2, 2023 were clearly in the nature of intra-party dissent within the NCP and the members of the party stood divided between two leaders. He had rejected the disqualification petitions against each other's group.

Sharad Pawar is uncle of Ajit Pawar and has founded the NCP.

The Election Commission had on February 6, 2024 recognised the group by Ajit Pawar as the NCP and awarded it party symbol of 'Clock'.