Suspension of 12 Maharashtra BJP MLAs cancelled by Supreme Court
Maharashtra – On Friday, Supreme Court of India cancelled the suspension of 12 BJP MLAs from Maharashtra for one year from the Assembly. The apex court backed its decision saying that the move of suspension of the MLAs was unconstitutional, illegal, and arbitrary. The decision was given by Supreme Court bench headed by Justice A. M. Khanwilkar saying that the MLAs cannot be on suspension beyond the current session. The bench also said that the decision against MLAs was “malice in eyes of law” and “beyond the powers of the Assembly”.
“In conclusion, we have no hesitation in allowing these writ petitions and the impugned resolution suspending these members beyond the period of the remainder of the concerned Monsoon session held in July 2021 is non-est in the eyes of law, nullity, unconstitutional, substantially illegal and irrational,” a bench headed by Justice A.M. Khanwilkar said.
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Following the Suppreme Court’s order, BJP MLA Girish Mahajan, who is one of the suspended MLAs said, “The SC judgment is a slap on the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government’s face. The suspension was an act of vendetta. They wanted to keep as away from the Speaker’s election. The Supreme Court’s judgment is fair and has undone the wrong.”
The 12 MLAs who were suspended from Assembly were Sanjay Kute, Ashish Shelar, Abhimanyu Pawar, Girish Mahajan, Atul Bhatkhalkar, Parag Alavani, Harish Pimpale, Yogesh Sagar, Jay Kumar Rawat, Narayan Kuche, Ram Satpute, and Bunty Bhangdi. They were suspended on July 5, 2021, after the Maharashtra state government had accused them of “misbehaving” with presiding officer Bhaskar Jadhav in the Speaker’s chamber.
Former chief minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis, welcomed the judgment and tweeted, “We welcome and thank the Hon SC for the historic decision of quashing of suspension of our 12 BJP Maharashtra MLAs, who were fighting for the cause of OBCs in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly during the monsoon session.” He added, “This decision will save the democratic values & it is a yet another tight slap on the face of MVA Govt for it’s unconstitutional, unethical, unfair, illegal & undemocratic actions & activities.”
