SC order on Maharashtra floor test: The Supreme Court has ordered that the Maharashtra floor test must be conducted by 5 pm on November 27, 2019. The floor test will be conducted through open ballot and the entire proceedings will be recorded and telecasted live.
Justice NV Ramana, while reading out the order, stated that constitutional morality needs to be promoted while finding a balance to opposing claims. He said that the issues need to be addressed at the interim stage itself.
SC order on Maharashtra Floor test: Key Points
1. The Maharashtra floor test should be live and it should be videographed.
2. The floor test will be conducted through open ballot.
3. The pro tem speaker should be appointed immediately.
4. The floor test must be conducted before 5 pm on November 27.
5. The floor test should not be a secret ballot. 
Also read: SC reserves order on NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena petition
The order hopes to bring an end to the political impasse caused by the legal battle between the Sena-NCP-Congress combine and the Devendra Fadnavis-led BJP and NCP’s Ajit Pawar. The case was heard by a special bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice NV Ramana and comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna on November 25, 2019.
The Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress had filed a joint petition against Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari's decision of inviting Devendra Fadnavis to form government in Maharashtra with the alleged support of the NCP, as claimed by NCP's legislative party leader Ajit Pawar. Justice Sanjiv Khanna, citing previous judgements in similar cases had said that in most such cases, the floor test was ordered within 48 hours.
Background
In the special hearing held on November 25, 2019, the counsel for the Maharashtra BJP and the state and the central government defended the Maharashtra Governor’s decision of inviting the BJP to form government with the support of NCP’s Ajit Pawar stating that the Governor had based his decision on the letters of support submitted to him.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the Governor does not have to do a review of the submitted documents. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of NCP and Congress, argued that nowhere did the letter say that the 54 NCP MLAs support BJP.
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