Mumbai : The Bombay High Court on Thursday, January 9, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Modi challenging then Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari’s 2022 decision to withdraw 12 nominations for Members of Legislative Council (MLC) recommended by Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Atul Borkar ruled that the petition was “misconceived” and “liable to be dismissed.”
The MVA government, in November 2020, had submitted a list of 12 MLC nominations to the Governor. This led to a petition being filed in the High Court later that year, urging the Governor to act on the pending list. In response, the Court had ruled that the Governor must accept or return the names within a reasonable time, citing the Governor’s constitutional duty to act promptly.
However, following a political upheaval in Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde replaced Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister. The Shinde-led cabinet later informed the Governor of its decision to withdraw the pending nominations. On September 5, 2022, the Governor accepted the withdrawal and returned the list to the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO).
This action was challenged by Sunil Modi, the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) faction’s Area Head of Kolhapur Municipal Corporation. Modi argued that the Governor had failed to act on the nominations for nearly two years, which he deemed excessive.
The situation became more complex when Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan approved a new list of seven MLCs just before the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Modi argued that the Governor’s decision to approve the new names while the court’s judgment was pending was inappropriate.
Senior Advocate Anil Anturkar, representing Modi, argued that the Governor should have complied with the High Court’s earlier judgment. “This is a case where authority has been sitting tight on it for eight months. The Court had said that a decision was required, but that was not respected,” Anturkar stated. “The division bench had asked the Governor to speak his mind.”
Advocate General (AG) Dr. Birendra Saraf opposed the petition, arguing that there was no legal barrier preventing a cabinet from withdrawing or recommending nominations. “Today there is no recommendation before the Governor. The petitioner cannot say that once a recommendation is made, it should continue forever,” the AG argued. He also clarified that the Governor returned the recommendation file because no new recommendation was pending after the withdrawal.
