Sena war: Supreme Court comes down on ex-governor Koshyari

New Delhi: The Supreme Court came down on former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari saying that a governor must exercise power cautiously. The court said that calling for a trust simply on the grounds of differences within the ruling party could topple an elected government. It was hearing a case on the Shiv Sena coup, NDTV reported.

"The Governor must be conscious that calling for a trust vote may lead to the toppling of the government," said a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud.

A five-judge bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said that the Governor must not enter any area which precipitates the fall of a government. People ditching the ruling party and Governor ending up toppling it is a sad spectacle for democracy. Governors must exercise their powers with the greatest circumspection.

After a coup by Eknath Shinde in Shiv Sena, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Sena-NCP-Congress coalition fell in Maharashtra, and Shinde became the CM in the newly formed government with BJP last June.

After Koshyari asked for a test of majority, Thackeray resigned after facing defeat. Since then, the factions led by Thackeray and Shinde have been fighting for recognition as real Shiv Sena.

In February, the Election Commission granted Shinde faction the name and poll symbol of Shiv Sena.

CJI asked that even after both factions used to break bread together, with NCP and Congress for three years and what happened overnight after "three years of happy marriage?" NDTV quoted.

CJI also said that a Governor's trust vote is when the house majority is shaken but was there such a thing.