Shiv Sena symbol row: SC fixes Nov 12 for hearing Uddhav faction's plea

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed November 12 for hearing a plea of the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena against the Maharashtra Assembly speaker's decision to allot the 'bow and arrow' party symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the hearing on the plea will start on November 12 and if need arises, it would continue on November 13.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Shiv Sena-UBT, said that local body elections are likely to be held in January next year and therefore there is a sense of urgency in the matter.

He said the court may hear the matter finally before the local body polls.

"We will hear all the parties on November 12 and if need arises, we can continue the hearing on November 13," the bench said.

Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the Shinde faction.

On July 14, the top court fixed the matter for final hearing, saying the issue had been pending for long and the uncertainty cannot be allowed to continue.

The Uddhav faction earlier said the speaker's decision to hand over the party symbol to the opposite faction in 2023 based on legislative majority was contrary to a Constitution bench verdict of the top court.

On May 7, the top court asked the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction to concentrate on the local body polls after the party sought an urgent hearing on its plea against the speaker's decision.

In January 2024, Speaker Rahul Narwekar rejected Shiv Sena-UBT's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde.

Challenging the orders passed by the speaker in the apex court, the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction claimed they were "patently unlawful and perverse" and instead of punishing the act of defection, they rewarded the defectors by holding that they comprised the real political party.

The speaker, the plea claimed, erred in holding that the majority legislators of the Shiv Sena represented the will of the Shiv Sena.

In his ruling on the disqualification petitions, the speaker did not disqualify any MLA belonging to the rival camps.

The speaker's ruling further cemented Shinde's position as the then-chief minister, 18 months after he led a rebellion against Thackeray, and added to his political heft in the ruling coalition, which also comprised the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar group) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the Maharashtra Assembly elections.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Shinde faction won seven seats. In the Maharashtra polls, the party won 57 seats, the BJP won 132 seats, while the Ajit Pawar-led NCP bagged 41 seats.

In December 2024, Devendra Fadnavis was back as the Maharashtra chief minister with Shinde and Pawar as deputy chief ministers.