Shiv Sena symbol row: SC to hear Uddhav Thackeray faction plea in August

The top court then said the matter would be taken up after the summer break. Representational Pic

The Supreme Court on Monday said it will hear in August the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction's plea challenging the Maharashtra assembly speaker's decision to allot the "bow and arrow" party symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted that the matter has been pending for too long and that the ongoing uncertainty needs to be resolved, according to news agency PTI.

"We will be listing the case in August for final disposal," the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared on behalf of the Uddhav faction, reported PTI.

Sibal urged the court to expedite the matter, citing the upcoming local body elections in Maharashtra.

Senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for the Shinde faction, said the court had previously refused an urgent hearing on the issue.

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

Justice Kant then said, "We will give the exact date of listing of the matter later as we don't want to clash with other cases," reported PTI.

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

The top court then said the matter would be taken up after the summer break.

On January 10, 2024, Maharashtra legislative assembly speaker Rahul Narwekar rejected Shiv Sena (UBT) plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde.

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

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

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 consists of the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar group), ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and state assembly elections, as per PTI.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the Shinde faction won seven parliamentary seats, whereas his faction won 57 seats in the assembly polls, the BJP won 132 seats and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP won 41 seats.

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

(With PTI inputs)