The Supreme Court agreed on Tuesday to hear former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s petition against the seizure of Shiv Sena properties and bank accounts following the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to award the party’s name and bow-and-arrow symbol to the rival Eknath Shinde-led faction.
Thackeray’s lawyer, senior attorney Kapil Sibal, requested a stay of the ECI verdict. The Shinde camp challenged the petition, arguing that the Supreme Court should not consider the case in the first place, although Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud stated that it will be heard on Wednesday at 3.30 pm.
A different constitutional bench will hear an older batch of petitions connected to the Shiv Sena’s split.
As chief minister Shinde’s camp took over Shiv Sena’s office in the state legislative assembly, Thackeray filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on Monday.
Thackeray told the Supreme Court on Monday in his plea that ECI failed to function as a neutral arbiter in the quarrel between the two factions. He said that ECI’s ruling addressed matters directly related to a batch of petitions before the Supreme Court.
The petition was suggested for early listing on Monday, but the court refused to issue an order.
In Mumbai, Thackeray targeted Shinde’s ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and said that he received calls from political leaders across the country following ECI’s ruling last week.
“Everything was taken from me. “Our party’s name and symbol have been taken, but Thackeray’s name cannot be stolen,” Thackeray remarked in Mumbai.
The Shinde camp legislators took control of the party office in the legislature on Monday morning, citing the ECI directive. Until Friday, the premises belonged to the Thackeray faction.
ECI determined last Friday that Shinde’s group will keep the original party’s name and symbol. It was the culmination of an eight-month fight between Thackeray and Shinde over control of the party, which had split last year when Shinde and 39 other legislators stormed out and joined hands with the BJP to create the government.
Thackeray criticized ECI and stated that he will file a petition with the Supreme Court to challenge it. Shinde referred to it as a democratic victory. The two leaders will compete in two important assembly by-elections this month, as well as the Mumbai municipal elections later this year.
Thackeray stated that ECI’s ruling was incorrect and that the Supreme Court was the last hope.
