Shinde vs Uddhav’s ‘real Shiv Sena claim’ | Supreme Court asks ECI to not take any precipitate action

The three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana requested the ECI to desist from taking any precipitate action on Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde's claim over the party and its symbol of bow and arrow.

The Supreme Court on August 4 said it will decide, likely by August 8, the question of referring the battle between Uddhav Thackeray and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde over the "real" Shiv Sena to a Constitution Bench.

Meanwhile, the three-judge Bench led by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to desist from taking any precipitate action on Mr. Shinde's claim over the party and its symbol of bow and arrow.

The ECI, represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar, argued that disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution did not affect the poll body's power to decide rival claims over a party.

The court however asked the ECI to give a reasonable adjournment when the case came up for hearing before it on August 8. The Thackeray loyalists had earlier moved the Supreme Court against the ECI proceedings.

They had urged the court to direct the ECI to halt its proceedings. They had argued that the apex court was already looking into every facet of the entire gamut of legal issues connected to the recent developments in Maharashtra politics, right from the breaking away of Mr. Shinde and his supporters to the resignation of Mr. Thackeray as Chief Minister to the floor test, etc.

If the case is referred to a Constitution Bench, one of the cardinal issues, as pointed out by the CJI, would be whether the dissent of Mr. Shinde’s faction, without subsequently forming a new party or merging with another, amounted to a “split” from the original Shiv Sena party.

A “split” from the original political party without a subsequent merger with another party or formation of a new faction was no longer a defence from disqualification under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law) of the Constitution.