Supreme Court raps Shinde camp for its U-turn on disqualification plea

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly countered suggestions from rebel Sena MLAs, saved from possible disqualification prior to the fall of MVA government on SC intervention, that the Maharashtra assembly speaker and not the apex court should adjudicate on the disqualification isEknath Shinde faction’s counsel Harish Salve told a bench of CJI N V Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli that cross-disqualification petitions, pending against almost all Sena MLAs, should be decided by the speaker as the SC should not be the first forum of adjudication.
The bench said, “You (the rebels) came to the court first and were protected. Entertaining that petition is contrary to the SC judgment in the Karnataka case where we had ruled that it is the speaker who should decide such issues. Now that you have garnered a majority and have elected your MLA as speaker, you want the issues to be decided by the