The Bombay High Court on Thursday dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sunil Modi, challenging the former Governor of Maharashtra’s inaction on a list of 12 names recommended by the then-Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government for nomination to the Maharashtra Legislative Council (MLC).
The bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar stated that “the petition is misconceived and thus liable to be dismissed.”
The petition contested the delay by former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari in acting on the list of nominees forwarded by the MVA government between 2019 and 2022 under then-Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
The list, submitted in November 2020, did not receive approval from Governor Koshyari. A change in government occurred following a shift in allegiance from Thackeray’s party, leading to Thackeray’s resignation. In 2022, the new administration led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde withdrew the nominations with the Governor’s consent. Modi’s petition had challenged the withdrawal of these nominations.
This case mirrored a previous petition by Ratan Soli Luth, who had also contested the delay in the Governor’s decision on the list. In that case, the court ruled that the Governor was required to act within a reasonable time but did not issue any directives. Luth’s appeal to the Supreme Court in October 2021 was withdrawn, granting liberty to Modi to file a similar petition.
Modi later filed another PIL, questioning the legal validity of the withdrawal of the nominations. This petition has yet to be heard.
Following the withdrawal of the 12 MLC nominees, Governor Koshyari appointed seven new MLCs on October 15, 2024.
