‘Real’ Shiv Sena tussle | Supreme Court refuses to stay EC proceedings on Shinde’s claim

SC dismisses Uddhav Thackeray faction’s plea to stay EC proceedings

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Election Commission of India to go ahead and decide Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s claim that his faction represents the “real” Shiv Sena.

The Bench, headed by Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, dismissed the Uddhav Thackeray camp’s plea to stay the ECI proceedings. Mr. Thackeray had argued that the Shinde faction was facing disqualification proceedings for defection under the 10th Schedule, and that the ECI should wait until the question of disqualification was decided.

During the hearing, the SC said there was a “bit of a problem” with Mr. Thackeray’s argument that the ECI proceedings under the Symbols Order of 1968 should be “stultified” merely because a disqualification process against the Shinde faction was pending before the Assembly Speaker.

“We direct that there would be no stay of the proceedings before the Election Commission,” the bench also comprising Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha said.

The Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government had collapsed after a revolt by Mr. Shinde and 39 other legislators against the Sena leadership.

Mr. Shinde was sworn in as the CM on June 30 along with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis as his deputy.

On August 23, the Supreme Court had referred to a five-judge bench the petitions filed by the Thackeray and Shinde-led factions raising several constitutional questions related to defection, merger, and disqualification.