Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
| Photograph Credit score: PTI
The Supreme Courtroom on Wednesday (November 12, 2025) fastened January 21 for listening to pleas filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena towards the Election Fee’s order allotting the ‘bow and arrow’ image to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi mentioned that it’s going to begin listening to arguments from January 21 on the Shiv Sena image dispute. The Bench will then hear arguments on the same dispute regarding the Nationalist Congress Social gathering (NCP) on January 22, as there are a number of overlapping points concerned in each issues, it mentioned.
The highest courtroom additionally fastened three hours for listening to arguments from every faction of the political events.
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, showing for Udhav faction, mentioned that issues require pressing listening to as there are native physique polls within the State. Justice Kant mentioned political events are all the time in election mode in India as they’re contesting nationwide elections, State polls and even native physique polls.
Senior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the Shinde faction.
On July 14, the highest courtroom fastened the matter for closing listening to, saying the problem had been pending for a very long time and the uncertainty can’t be allowed to proceed. The Uddhav faction has challenged the February 17 order of the Election Fee which has allotted the identify ‘Shiv Sena’ and its ballot image ‘bow and arrow’ to the group led by Mr. Shinde.
The Thackeray faction has additionally questioned the Maharashtra Meeting Speaker’s resolution at hand over the celebration’s identify and image to the other faction primarily based on the legislative majority saying it was opposite to a Structure Bench verdict of the highest courtroom.
On Could 7, the highest courtroom requested the Thackeray-led faction to focus on the native physique polls after the celebration sought an pressing listening to on its plea towards the Speaker’s resolution.
In January 2024, Speaker Rahul Narwekar rejected Shiv Sena-UBT’s plea to disqualify 16 MLAs together with Shinde of the ruling camp.
Difficult the orders handed by the Speaker within the apex courtroom, the Thackeray faction claimed they have been “patently illegal and perverse” and as a substitute of punishing the act of defection, they rewarded the defectors by holding that they comprised the true political celebration.
The Speaker, the plea claimed, erred in holding that almost all of the Shiv Sena legislators represented the need of the Shiv Sena celebration.
In his ruling on the disqualification petitions, the Speaker didn’t disqualify any MLA belonging to the rival camps.
The Speaker’s ruling additional cemented Shinde’s place because the then Chief Minister, 18 months after he led a rebel towards Mr. Thackeray and added to his political heft within the ruling coalition, which additionally comprised the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar group) forward of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and the Maharashtra Meeting elections.
Within the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Shinde faction received seven seats. Within the Maharashtra polls, the celebration received 57 seats, the BJP 132 seats, whereas the Ajit Pawar-led NCP bagged 41 seats.
In December 2024, Devendra Fadnavis was again because the Maharashtra Chief Minister with Shinde and Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers.
Printed – November 12, 2025 04:47 pm IST
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