HC reserves verdict on legislative council appts

Mumbai: HC on Monday reserved its verdict on a plea challenging former governor B S Koshyari's decision to reject the recommendation made by MVA govt in 2020 to nominate 12 experts from different fields to the legislative council as per provisions of the Constitution. It is likely to pronounce its order on Oct 23.
On whether govt can proceed with such nominations in the interim, Sunil Modi, Sena (UBT) functionary who filed an intervention plea in HC, said, "I don't think govt will make fresh recommendations.It will have to wait for the verdict." A senior Congress functionary, too, said it looked unlikely that govt will recommend names since the model code of conduct is set to come into force soon.
The litigation's outcome will be significant as over 50 leading politicians from Sena, BJP and NCP are lobbying for nomination to the council.
The plea said it was wrong on the governor's part to return the nominees' list and that the cabinet's decision couldn't be reversed. Disputing this, govt said the governor's call couldn't be challenged.
—Prafulla Marpakwar