Singhvi said that using the legislative party test was flawed because the legislative party is based on defections, unlike the organisational wing of the original party.
Pertinently, Singhvi was critical of the Supreme Court’s refusal to reinstate Uddhav Thackeray as Maharashtra Chief Minister, in the wake of the Shiv Sena’s split into the Thackeray faction and the Eknath Shinde faction.
Notably, in a May 2023 judgment, the Supreme Court had observed that it was wrong of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to call for a floor test after the Shiv Sena’s split, since there was not enough evidence at the time to indicate that the then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had lost confidence.
However, the Court added that it could not extend any further relief to Thackeray since he had resigned from his post of Chief Minister after the floor test was called, instead of facing the floor test.
Commenting on how this case progressed before the top court, Singhvi said:
“People already became ministers by the time the Shinde judgment came. Flaw was when they refused to stay floor test during notice. How can the judgment then ask that ‘because you resigned we cannot (restore status quo)’? If the root is bad, the flower will be bad. Court first said no stay on floor test, then that is used to uphold the defection (in effect). Case of no remedy … At the end of the day you also have to adjudicate fairly. Be holistic, not holier than thou or sermonising when spotting Constitutional sins.”
Source: Barandbench
