THE SUPREME COURT ON WEDNESDAY deferred till November 12 the hearing on Uddhav Thackeray’s petition challenging the Election Commission of India’s February 17, 2023, decision recognising Eknath Shinde’s faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting it the party’s reserved ‘Bow and Arrow’ symbol.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and Nongmeikapam Kotiswar Singh posted the matter for hearing on November 12, after Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Thackeray sought an early hearing citing the local bodies election in January next year.
“There is urgency, My Lords. Local elections are due in January. Please hear it at the earliest,” he urged.
“We will take it up on November 12”, Justice Kant said.
The controversy stems from the Election Commission’s order of February 17, 2023, which recognised Eknath Shinde’s group as the “real Shiv Sena” and allotted it the party’s reserved election symbol - ‘Bow and Arrow.’
In the same order, the Commission permitted the Uddhav faction to contest under the name “Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)” using a temporary symbol of a ‘Flaming Torch.’ The arrangement was made in view of the Maharashtra Assembly bye-elections scheduled for February 26, 2023.
The Thackeray camp has consistently maintained that the Election Commission overstepped its role as a neutral arbiter by basing its decision purely on legislative strength, rather than the party’s organisational structure or ideological continuity.
Thackeray’s plea argues that the poll panel failed to uphold the spirit of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, which mandates impartial adjudication in intra-party disputes.
