Supreme Court hears Shiv Sena election symbol dispute

The Supreme Court of India held a significant hearing regarding the dispute over the Shiv Sena election symbol, the bow and arrow. The bench, led by Chief Justice Suryakant, is reviewing petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction challenging the Election Commission's decision to award the symbol to the Eknath Shinde faction.

During the proceedings, Justice Joymalya Bagchi raised questions regarding constitutional morality, asking whether the spirit of an election symbol should apply to those who have committed ‘constitutional sins’. The court also questioned whether the Election Commission could have refused to grant the symbol to both factions and whether legislators facing disqualification proceedings should be counted when determining a safe basis for a majority.

Legal counsel for the Eknath Shinde faction argued that the Election Commission's decision based on legislative majority was legally sound. They noted that the 40 MLAs supporting Shinde represent 76 percent of the total votes cast for the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs in the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, and 13 MPs represent 73 percent of the votes cast for the party's 18 MPs in the Lok Sabha.