NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on the petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray and Enath Shinde camps after counsel concluded their arguments. Earlier in the day, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for the Thackeray faction, took the cue from critical observations made by the apex court on Wednesday about governor B S Koshyari’s act of calling a trust vote, to pillory him for recognising a faction within the Sena as the party and making internal matters of a party a ruse to “unconstitutionally” call for a floor test and provide the means to an unholy conspiracy to topple an elected government.
Adept at legal melodrama, Sibal said the SC must step in decisively to save democracy by striking down the governor’s unconstitutional act in calling for the trust vote which led to the toppling of an elected government and the decision to swear in Eknath Shinde aschief minister.
“When we enter this courtroom, we are in awe of its aura and come with a lot of hope. You (SC) are the only hope for 1. 4 billion people in this country. You (SC) cannot allow decimation of democracy in this uncouth and un-civilised manner,” he said.
On August 6 last year, while speaking at a ‘People’s Tribunal’ organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, People’s Union for Civil Liberties and National Alliance for People’s Movement, Sibal had said, “If you think youwill get relief from the SC, you are hugely mistaken. . . I will complete 50 years practising in the SC and after 50 years, I feel I have no hopes from the institution. ”
While concluding his arguments on Thursday, Sibal took his pitch higher, saying,“History of this court is a history of celebrations, to the lone exception of ADM Jabalpur (the 1976 judgment by a five-judge bench which, by a four-to-one majority, had upheld the suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency). I wish and hope this (the Maharashtra issue) is an equally significant case, a moment in the history of this court, when the future of democracy will be determined. ”
“I am absolutely certain that without the intervention of this court, our democracy will be in danger, because no government will be allowed to survive. It is with that hope that I beseech your Lordships to set aside the governor’s decision (to ask Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister to face a vote of confidence). ”
Adept at legal melodrama, Sibal said the SC must step in decisively to save democracy by striking down the governor’s unconstitutional act in calling for the trust vote which led to the toppling of an elected government and the decision to swear in Eknath Shinde aschief minister.
“When we enter this courtroom, we are in awe of its aura and come with a lot of hope. You (SC) are the only hope for 1. 4 billion people in this country. You (SC) cannot allow decimation of democracy in this uncouth and un-civilised manner,” he said.
On August 6 last year, while speaking at a ‘People’s Tribunal’ organised by the Campaign for Judicial Accountability and Reforms, People’s Union for Civil Liberties and National Alliance for People’s Movement, Sibal had said, “If you think youwill get relief from the SC, you are hugely mistaken. . . I will complete 50 years practising in the SC and after 50 years, I feel I have no hopes from the institution. ”
While concluding his arguments on Thursday, Sibal took his pitch higher, saying,“History of this court is a history of celebrations, to the lone exception of ADM Jabalpur (the 1976 judgment by a five-judge bench which, by a four-to-one majority, had upheld the suspension of fundamental rights during the Emergency). I wish and hope this (the Maharashtra issue) is an equally significant case, a moment in the history of this court, when the future of democracy will be determined. ”
“I am absolutely certain that without the intervention of this court, our democracy will be in danger, because no government will be allowed to survive. It is with that hope that I beseech your Lordships to set aside the governor’s decision (to ask Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister to face a vote of confidence). ”
