The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the Election Commission of India's decision to award the Shiv Sena name and 'bow and arrow' symbol to Eknath Shinde.
"They (Shinde camp) have already succeeded before the EC. We can’t now stay the order," Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud said.
During the hearing, the CJI iterated the ECI's decision to allow Uddhav's faction, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (SSUBT), to continue using the 'flaming torch' symbol.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has challenged in the Supreme Court the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to accord the Shiv Sena party name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
The two Shiv Sena factions have been at loggerheads ever since Shinde parted ways with the party and a majority of MLAs, leading to the downfall of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
A Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the case at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Commanding the support of the bulk of MLAs and Shiv Sena leaders, Eknath Shinde, who was the urban development minister in the Uddhav-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, revolted from the party in June 2022. The rebel faction alleged that Uddhav Thackeray's coalition with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress under the MVA breached founder Bal Thackeray's ideology.
On the contrary, Uddhav Thackeray denied the allegation and attributed the dissolution and subsequent formation of the Maharashtra government to Eknath Shinde and the BJP's desire for power.
On July 8, 2022, after the split, Uddhav Thackeray stated that the 'bow and arrow' symbol of Shiv Sena would remain with his faction as per law. On October 8, the ECI directed both the Thackeray and Eknath Shinde camps to refrain from using the Shiv Sena name or its symbol till an official recognition was announced. The symbol was frozen, and both sides could not use it.
Subsequently, the ECI allotted 'Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray' as the party name for the Thackeray faction and 'Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena' (Balasaheb's Shiv Sena) as the name for the Shinde group. The Uddhav faction was allotted the symbol of a ‘flaming torch’ (Mashaal). Earlier today, the Supreme Court allowed Uddhav's camp to continue using the 'flaming torch' symbol.