The indecision of the then Maharashtra governor on the state government's recommendation to appoint 12 persons as MLCs is 'quite disturbing', the Bombay high court has said.
The HC, however, held as valid and legal the decision taken by the then Eknath Shinde-led government to withdraw the list of nominations sent by the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government under Uddhav Thackeray.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar had on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by former corporator and Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray functionary Sunil Modi against the withdrawal of a list of 12 MLC nominees sent to the governor in 2020 by the then MVA government.
In its detailed judgment made available on Friday, the HC said it was 'quite disturbing' that despite an order passed in 2021 on the issue, the Governor did not take any decision on the recommendations made by the state government on November 6, 2020.
"However, the fact remains that on the said recommendations or the advice tendered by the Council of Ministers, the decision was not taken and accordingly, no order based on any such decision could be issued in terms of the provisions as contained in Article 166 of the Constitution of India," the HC said.
Since no decision was taken by the governor in respect of the nomination of the 12 candidates, it was open to the Council of Ministers to withdraw the recommendations, the court added.
"The process initiated with the recommendations made and advice tendered by the Council of Ministers on 6th November 2020 could not reach its final destination and accordingly, in the mid of such decision making process, in our opinion, it was well within the authority of the Council of Ministers to withdraw the earlier recommendations," the HC said.
Modi's plea sought directions for the Governor to either nominate the 12 candidates as recommended by the Council of Ministers on November 6, 2020, or return the recommendations with reasons.
After Eknath Shinde came to power in mid-2022, the new cabinet wrote to the Governor informing him that the list of 12 names submitted by the earlier government was being withdrawn.
Following this, on September 5, 2022, the Governor returned the list to the chief minister's office (CMO).
In October 2024, the Governor appointed seven Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) under the governor's quota. These comprise three from the BJP, and two each from the Shiv Sena and NCP.
The newly appointed MLCs from the BJP are its state women's wing chief Chitra Wagh, state general secretary Vikrant Patil, and spiritual leader of Banjara community Dharmaguru Babusingh Maharaj Rathod.
The Nationalist Congress Party nominated former MLA Pankaj Bhujbal and Idris Naikwadi, while the Shiv Sena's nominees are former MLC Manisha Kayande and former Lok Sabha MP Hemant Patil.
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