Supreme Court Lists Sena (UBT) MPs’ Merger For Final Disposal, noting that the Lok Sabha Speaker has not entered appearance in the petition despite notice issued in July.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 27) directed that the Shiv Sena (UBT) petition challenging the Lok Sabha Speaker’s recognition of the merger of six of its MPs with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena be listed for final disposal, after observing that the Speaker had not appeared despite service of notice [Arvind Ganpat Sawant v. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha and Others].
A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe heard the writ petition. Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat appeared for the petitioner, Arvind Ganpat Sawant, a Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament. The matter is next listed on December 8, 2026.
What happened in Court
Mr Kamat told the Court that notice had been served on the Speaker’s secretariat. Mr Sibal pointed to the delay and asked how many more months the petitioner would have to wait before the respondents entered appearance. Justice Narasimha asked where the Speaker was. The Court recorded that service was complete and directed the petition to be listed for final disposal. No arguments on behalf of the Speaker were advanced on the day, and the Court has not ruled on the merits of the challenge.
How the case reached here
Ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla approved the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena. The six MPs are Sanjay Deshmukh, Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Dina Patil, Nagesh Patil-Ashtikar, Omprakash Rajenimbalkar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure. The change took the Shinde faction’s strength in the Lok Sabha from seven to 13 and reduced the UBT’s to three.
On July 22, the bench issued notice to the Speaker but declined to stay the merger. On August 10 the matter was adjourned for two weeks because no one appeared for the Speaker or the Lok Sabha Joint Secretary, and the bench said it would give the respondents time before deciding on interim relief.
The petitioner’s case
At an earlier hearing, Mr Sibal argued that the Speaker can approve a merger under paragraph 4 of the Tenth Schedule only while deciding a disqualification application, that no such application had been filed against these MPs, and that the Speaker therefore had no plenary power in the matter. He also contended that the UBT was not given an opportunity to be heard. Mr Kamat submitted that the respondents were seeking to tide over the ongoing Monsoon Session. These are the petitioner’s contentions; the respondents’ position on them is yet to be placed before the Court.
The legal position
The Tenth Schedule to the Constitution, the anti-defection law, disqualifies a legislator who voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose ticket he was elected. Paragraph 4 protects members where the original political party merges with another and not less than two-thirds of the members of the legislature party agree to the merger. Who decides whether such a merger has taken place, and at what stage, is the question the petitioner has put before the Court.
Case Title: Arvind Ganpat Sawant v. Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha and Others, W.P.(C) No. 886/2026
Bench: Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe, Supreme Court
Date of Hearing: October 27, 2026
Next Date: December 8, 2026
Appearances: Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat for the petitioner; none reported for the Speaker