What Spoiled Sena-NCP-Cong Happy Marriage : CJI

In the context of the fight for Shiv Sena’s legacy, the Supreme Court took a strong stand against the culture of interference by the governors in the politics of the state.

On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court of India minced no words and expressed, in strong language, its serious concern over the active involvement of governors of the state in the politics of state.
The Supreme Court said it’s very disconcerting that governors, a constitutional post, are getting themselves involved in the political maneuvering of political processes and, in some cases, actively facilitating the fall of elected governments.

Shiv Sena symbol and name has been awarded to Eknath Shinde led faction. (Image source : AKJ news) — Shiv Sena’s symbol and name has been awarded to Eknath Shinde led faction. (Image source : AKJ news)

Whose “Sena” is legitimate?

On March 15, 2024, the Supreme Court heard the Shiv Sena symbol case, in which Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thakre locked horns over the awarding of the Shiv Sena symbol and name to Eknath Shinde.
Eknath Shinde led a faction that defected from the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government and joined hands with the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra.
The Election Commission of India awarded the Shiv Sena symbol and name to the Eknath Shinde faction.

Aya Ram, Gaya Ram

Arguing for Uddhav Thakre, the former CM of Maharashtra, senior advocate Kapil Sibal tried to decipher a pattern of the fall of elected governments, which is not only limited to Maharashtra but also to Meghalaya, Manipur, and elsewhere.

Objecting to the political trend of treating democracy as a number game, Mr. Sibal argued the Aya Ram Gaya Ram culture is back in the defection-prone Indian Democratic structure.

What Spoiled Sena-NCP-Cong Happy Marriage : CJI - Asiana Times — Eknath Shinde camped in Assam post defecting from Shiv Sena in June 2022. ( Image source: TOI)

Aya ram gaya ram is a reference used for defection culture, whose origin can be tracked back to Haryana’s MLA Gaya Lal, who changed his political allegiance three times in the span of two weeks.
Quoting the popular defection reference, Kapil Sibal stressed that democracy is not the game of numbers; political affiliation matters.

Wisdom in calling the trust vote

Uddhav Thakre has challenged the Election Commission’s verdict to award the “Bow and Arrow” symbol and Shiv Sena name to Eknath Shinde’s “faction.”
On June 30, 2022, Maharashtra Governor B.S. Koshiyari asked the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thakre, to face a trust vote on the floor of the house, as there was an open rebellion in his party. The rebellion was led by the present CM of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde.

The Chief Justice of India, while hearing the argument, questioned the judgment and wisdom of the Governor for asking Uddhav Thakre’s government to prove majority. CJI D.Y. Chandrachud observed that the governor should have been conscious of the fact that by asking Uddhav Thackeray’s government to face the trust vote, a constitutional requirement, it could consequently result in the fall of government.

CJI was questioning the judgement, rationale, and wisdom of the then governor of Maharashtra, B.S. Koshiyari, for calling for trust in the face of inter-party conflicts and dissensions in the party.
Clarifying his position, the CJI stated he is not questioning the constitutional power and mandate of the governor of a state to ask the CM to face a trust vote on the floor of the House, but he is cautioning that the governor could not be part of such a political process that could ultimately result in the toppling of an elected government.
Appearing for the former Governor of Maharashtra, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought to counter the premise of the bench that the Governor facilitated the fall of an elected government led by Mr. Thackeray.

A “Happy marriage”

SG Tushar Mehta argued that Koshiyari waded into dissension when 39 rebel MLAs had already written a letter to the governor saying they wanted to withdraw support from the coalition, and therefore governor involvement would have no implications for the stability of Mr. Thackeray’s government.

Stating that past supreme court rulings have been clear on the fact that an elected government must not only enjoy but continue to enjoy the majority support of the house during its lifetime, SG Tushar said previous SC judgments mandate Governor Koshiyari to call for a floor test at the earliest possible time, whenever doubt arises in his mind about the stability of the government.

The bench showed discomfort over the fact that political allegiance and ideological commitment have been relegated, and the MLA shows no hesitation in ditching the parties on whose tickets they got elected.
The bench asked if MLAs were part of the “happy coalition marriage” of NCP-Sena-Cong for three years, then what spoiled this “happy marriage”?