NEW DELHI: Uddhav Thackeray Group on Monday approached the Supreme Court, challenging the Election Commission's final order recognising Eknath Shinde's faction as the real Shiv Sena and allotting it 'bow and arrow' symbol.
Senior advocate A M Singhvi, appearing for the petitioner, mentioned the plea before a bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala for urgent hearing.
The court, however, rejected his plea for granting him date of hearing and instead asked him to make a request on Tuesday.
The Constitution bench had on February 17 declined a plea made by Thackeray faction of Shiv Sena to refer the 2016 Nabam Rebia judgement, which restricted the power of the Speaker to decide disqualification petition if a resolution for his own removal is pending, to a seven-judge bench.
On the same date, in a major jolt to Uddhav Thackeray group of the party in Maharashtra, the EC, in its final order, said the party name Shiv Sena and symbol would be retained by Shinde, present Chief Minister of the state. The order was passed in exercise of its power under Article 324 of the Constitution and Symbols Order, 1968.
The EC applied three tests majority in legislative wing, organisational wing and the party constitution to arrive its conclusion.
The poll panel noted, the majority test in the legislative wing clearly reflects “qualitative superiority” in favour of petitioner (Shinde).
It also pointed out the Rashtriya Karyakarini is the apex body of the party which was elected by a directly appointed Pratinidhi Sabha. Neither wing provided details of its strength. The organisational wing could not yield determinable finding, EC said.
With regard to the party constitution, the EC said that the 2018 amendment to the party's constitution was not given to it. The amendments had undone the introduction of democratic norms in the party in 1999 at its insistence.
Shinde along with chunk of party legislators broke away from Thackeray in June, 2022 as he had joined hands with rival NCP and Congress to be Chief Minister of the state. Shiv Sena was the oldest ally of the BJP and fought the last Assembly election in alliance.
The Commission, in its decision, rejected Thackeray faction's contention that the plea filed before the EC was not maintainable, in view of pendency of issues related to disqualification.
The Commission's order was signed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel.
