Could have considered reinstating MVA govt had Uddhav Thackeray not resigned as CM: SC

However, this argument does not account for the fact that Thackeray did not face the floor test on June 30, 2022 and instead submitted his resignation.

The Supreme Court Thursday said it could have considered reinstating the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by Uddhav Thackeray if he had refrained from resigning as the Maharashtra chief minister in June last year.

In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the Uddhav Thackeray government following a revolt by Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said it cannot quash a resignation that has been submitted voluntarily.

"Had Thackeray refrained from resigning from the post of the Chief Minister, this court could have considered the grant of the remedy of reinstating the government headed by him," the bench, also comprising Justices M R Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, said.

The bench said the counsel representing the Thackeray faction had relied on two previous judgements of the apex court to argue that the court has the power to restore status quo ante (previously existing state of affairs) and rule that the government with Thackeray as its chief minister is to be reinstated. "However, this argument does not account for the fact that Thackeray did not face the floor test on June 30, 2022 and instead submitted his resignation. This court cannot quash a resignation that has been submitted voluntarily," it said.

It noted that the apex court's order of June 29 last year had held that the outcome of the trust vote to be conducted on June 30, 2022 "shall be subject to the final outcome" of this batch of petitions. "Since the trust vote was not held, the question of it being subject to the final outcome of these petitions does not arise," it said.