Mumbai, Jan 9 (PTI) The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by a Shiv Sena (UBT) functionary against withdrawal of a list of 12 MLC nominees sent to the Maharashtra governor in 2020 by the then MVA government.
A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the petition, filed by Sena (UBT) functionary and former corporator Sunil Modi, was misconceived and hence liable to be dismissed.
The HC in October 2024 concluded hearing on Modi's PIL and reserved the judgement.
Modi had challenged the decision of the previous Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government to withdraw the recommendations made by erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for the 12 nominated seats in the state legislative council.
After the MVA government collapsed in 2022 and Eknath Sinde took over as the chief ninister, the new cabinet wrote to the governor that they were withdrawing the pending list of 12 names submitted by the earlier government.
On September 5, 2022, the governor accepted the same and the list was returned to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
In October 2024, seven Members of Legislative Council (MLCs) were appointed for the 12 vacant posts under the governor's quota.
Out of the seven MLC seats, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has got three, and its allies Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have got two each.
The newly appointed MLCs from the BJP are its Maharashtra women's wing chief Chitra Wagh, state general secretary Vikrant Patil, and spiritual leader of Banjara community Dharmaguru Babusingh Maharaj Rathod.
The NCP has nominated former MLA Pankaj Bhujbal and Idris Naikwadi, a minority face from western Maharashtra.
The Shiv Sena has nominated Manisha Kayande and former Lok Sabha member Hemant Patil. PTI SP GK