NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed November 12 for hearing the plea filed by Uddhav Thackeray against the order of the Election Commission of India (ECI) that had allotted party name 'Shiv Sena' and its iconic election symbol 'Bow and Arrow' to the Eknath Shinde-led faction.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N. Kotiswar Singh agreed to fix the matter for hearing next month after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Uddhav Thackeray, submitted that the matter required urgent consideration as local polls in Maharashtra are scheduled for January 2026.
“We will hear all the parties on November 12, and if need arises, we can continue the hearing on November 13, ” the apex court said.
Sibal also sought an urgent hearing on another plea filed by the Shiv Sena(UBT) faction. The plea challenged the ruling of the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker, who declined to disqualify 16 MLAs from the ruling camp, including then Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, holding that the Shinde group constituted the real "Shiv Sena" as it commanded a majority in both the legislature and the party’s National Executive.