New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday junked a plea that sought President’s rule in Maharashtra, while pointing out that such prayers cannot be entertained by the top court and asking the petitioner if he knew how big the state was.
A bench headed by Chief Justice SA Bobde and comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian junked the PIL that sought the dismissal of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
“As a petitioner, you are at liberty to approach the President, but do not come here,” the top court said while hearing the matter through video conference.
Vikram Gehlot claimed in his plea that the state was not carrying out its affairs in line with constitutional and legal provisions, and therefore should be dismissed.
The plea cited, as poor examples of law and order, the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput and demolition of a part of a property belonging to actress Kangana Ranaut.
The Chief Justice remarked: “Is the petitioner implying that just because a Bollywood actor has died, the state is not following the Constitution? You know how big Maharashtra is?”
The bench questioned how the petitioner could say that in the backdrop of some incidents the Constitution was not followed in the state.
The petitioner argued that if not the whole state, at least Mumbai and neighbouring districts should be brought under the control of the armed forces. The petitioner insisted that a state of emergency should be declared in Maharashtra.
–IANS
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