Shiv Sena vs Shiv Sena: Supreme Court to begin final hearing on Jan 21

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that that it will start the final hearing on January 21 2026 in the ongoing dispute between the Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde factions of the Shiv Sena the ANI reportedThe hearing is scheduled on petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackerayled faction of the Shiv Sena challenging the Election Commissionrsquos order that allotted the partyrsquos traditional lsquobow and arrowrsquo symbol to the faction led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath ShindeA bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi announced that arguments in the Shiv Sena symbol dispute would commence on 21 January followed by a hearing on a related case involving the Nationalist Congress Party NCP on 22 January as both matters raise similar constitutional questions according to the PTIThe court has allocated three hours of argument time for each faction involved in the two casesAppearing for the Thackerayled faction senior advocate Devadatt Kamat urged the court to take up the matter urgently noting that local body elections in Maharashtra were approaching Responding to this Justice Surya Kant remarked that ldquopolitical parties in India are always in election moderdquo as polls are held at the national state and local levels throughout the yearSenior advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared on behalf of the Shinde factionThe top court had earlier on July 14 listed the case for a final hearing observing that the issue had been pending for a considerable time and that ldquosuch uncertainty cannot be allowed to continuerdquoShiv Sena vs Shiv Sena Supreme Court says it will begin final hearing on January 21 2026 the dispute between Uddhav Thackeray and Eknath Shinde group of Shiv Sena in relation to allotment of lsquobow and arrowrsquo election symbol and dismissal of disqualification pleas by Maharashtrahellipmdash ANI ANI November 12 2025Following the split Shinde had become Chief Minister of Maharashtra with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party BJPThe Election Commission of India later recognised Shindersquos faction as the real Shiv Sena and granted it the partyrsquos traditional lsquobow and arrowrsquo symbol mdash a decision strongly challenged by the Thackeray camp Uddhav Thackeray then moved the Supreme Court arguing that the decision was unfair and unconstitutionalOn 10 January 2024 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar rejected a plea filed by the Shiv Sena UBT to disqualify 16 MLAs from the ruling camp including Chief Minister Eknath ShindeChallenging the Speakerrsquos decision in the Supreme Court the Uddhav Thackerayled faction argued that the orders were ldquopatently unlawful and perverserdquo The petition contended that instead of penalising defection the Speaker had effectively rewarded the defectors by recognising them as the ldquoreal political partyrdquoThe Thackeray faction further claimed that the Speaker had erred in assuming that a majority of legislators represented the will of the Shiv Sena insisting that the partyrsquos identity and control should rest with its organisational structure rather than numerical strength in the legislatureIn his ruling the Speaker did not disqualify any MLA from either faction a decision that significantly strengthened Shindersquos political positionIn the 2024 Lok Sabha polls the Shindeled Shiv Sena secured seven parliamentary seats while in the subsequent assembly elections his faction won 57 seats The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats and the Ajit Pawarled NCP claimed 41 seatsBy December 2024 political dynamics shifted once again when Devendra Fadnavis returned as Maharashtra Chief Minister with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar serving as Deputy Chief Ministers marking yet another phase in the statersquos everchanging political landscapewith PTI and ANI inputs