SC Refuses Urgent Hearing on Plea Challenging EC’s Decision on Shiv Sena Symbol

The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused an urgent hearing on a plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction.

The plea challenges the Election Commission’s decision to recognize the Eknath Shinde-led bloc as the legitimate Shiv Sena and allot them the ‘bow and arrow’ poll symbol.

Senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari brought the matter before a bench consisting of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, seeking an urgent hearing.

“Wait for the Constitution bench on Jammu and Kashmir to conclude, and we will provide a date,” the bench stated.

The Case

The Thackeray faction has filed a challenge against the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allot the ‘Shiv Sena’ name and the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the faction led by the current Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Eknath Shinde.

Earlier in February, the top court declined to stay the ECI order but issued a notice on the plea submitted by the Uddhav Thackeray faction against the February 17 ECI order.

Last year, the Shiv Sena political party experienced a split, with one faction led by Thackeray and the other by Eknath Shinde. In June 2022, Shinde replaced Thackeray as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister after forming an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Subsequently, Shinde approached the ECI, asserting his claim to the ‘Shiv Sena’ name and the bow and arrow symbol. The ECI made its decision based on the strength of the legislative wing of the party rather than relying on the test of its organizational wing.

The ECI noted that the Shinde faction had the support of 40 Members in the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) compared to the Thackeray faction’s 15 MLAs. Similarly, in the Lok Sabha, out of 18 Members of Parliament (MPs), 13 MPs supported the Shinde faction, while only 5 supported the Thackeray faction, as per the ECI’s findings.

Consequently, the ECI ruled in favor of the Shinde faction, permitting it to retain the Shiv Sena name and the bow and arrow symbol.