SC to Hear Uddhav Thackeray Faction’s Plea Against ECI Order Recognising Shinde-Led Shiv Sena on Jan 21
SC to hear Uddhav Thackeray faction’s plea over Shiv Sena symbol row on January 21 at 11:30 am
The Supreme Court on Wednesday scheduled the hearing of a plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) challenging the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde faction as the official Shiv Sena and to grant it the party’s iconic ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi took up the matter, which the Thackeray faction had earlier sought to be heard urgently in view of the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections scheduled for December 2.
Appearing for Shiv Sena (UBT), Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat said the “symbol matter” was the first issue for adjudication, adding that the urgency stemmed from the approaching polls.
Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi joined him, stating that the Shiv Sena disqualification matter would be argued first, followed by the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) cases if overlapping issues arise.
The Bench noted that the NCP symbol issue was not listed for hearing but agreed to structure the schedule to ensure smooth proceedings.
After brief exchanges on the time allocation, the court fixed three hours for arguments by the petitioners and two hours for the respondents. The Bench also directed both sides to appoint a nodal counsel to coordinate pleadings and prepare a consolidated convenience compilation.
The Bench further disposed of a related contempt petition as infructuous.
In its order, the Court stated that “arguments will commence in the Shiv Sena matter, followed by NCP cases. Petitioners shall get three hours, and respondents two hours to conclude.” The court added that hearing would begin on January 21 at 11:30 AM and continue on January 22, if required.
Previously in July, the Court had decided to hear the dispute involving the election symbol and official name of Shiv Sena between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray in August. The Bench had said that it would like to hear the case finally and put an end to the dispute. Uddhav Thackeray faction had moved Supreme Court against the Election Commission's order allowing Eknath Shinde led faction to use the name 'Shiv Sena' and the symbol of 'bow and arrow'.
In 2023, supreme court had issued notice in the matter and allowed the liberty granted by the Election Commission to the Uddhav Thackeray faction to use the flaming torch symbol till the completion of the upcoming bye-elections.
The impugned order was passed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel in a plea filed by Eknath Shinde.
The order of the Election Commission of India came after Eknath Shinde had approached the Election Commission with a plea to decide who the real Shiv Sena is. Earlier the Supreme Court had rejected the plea of Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena to seek a stay on the proceedings of the Election Commission. Eknath Shinde, leader of the Shiv Sena had rebelled against the former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray with 40 other MLA's which led to the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Case Title: Uddhav Thackeray vs. Eknath Sambhaji Shinde & Anr.
Hearing Date: November 12, 2025
Bench: Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi