NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed January 21, 2026, for the final hearing of the petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Sharad Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), both challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decisions to recognise the rival camps as the official political parties.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the matters, which raise similar issues, will be heard together. “We will take up the matters on January 21 at 11:30 a.m., ” the Justice Kant-led Bench said, adding that the court master should ensure no important cases are listed on January 22 as well, allowing the hearing to continue the following day, if required.
The petitions challenge the ECI’s orders recognising the Eknath Shinde-led group as the official Shiv Sena and granting it the party name and the iconic “bow and arrow” symbol, and the decision to recognise the Ajit Pawar-led faction as the real NCP.