The Supreme Court will hear Uddhav Thackeray faction’s plea on November 12 against the Election Commission’s decision granting Shiv Sena’s name and “bow and arrow” symbol to Eknath Shinde. Kapil Sibal warned that any delay could cause “irreparable harm” ahead of 2026 polls.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has fixed November 12 for hearing the plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena. The petition challenges the 2023 order of the Election Commission of India (ECI), which had recognised the Eknath Shinde-led group as the real Shiv Sena and allotted it the party’s traditional “bow and arrow” symbol.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Thackeray camp, urged the Court to hear the matter without further delay.
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He argued that the case should be decided before the upcoming Maharashtra local body elections in January 2026. Sibal submitted that any further delay would cause “irreparable harm” to the Uddhav faction, as the identity of the party and its ability to contest elections would remain in question.
The case is likely to come up before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.
Earlier in July 2025, the Supreme Court had decided to finally hear the dispute involving the election symbol and official name of Shiv Sena between the two factions—one led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the other by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
At that time, the Bench had made it clear that it wanted to conclude the matter once and for all. As the Court said then, it would like to hear the case finally and put an end to the prolonged fight over the party’s symbol and name.
The Uddhav Thackeray faction had approached the Supreme Court against the Election Commission’s order, which had allowed the Shinde faction to officially use the name “Shiv Sena” and the iconic “bow and arrow” symbol.
In 2023, the Supreme Court had issued a notice in this matter while also allowing the Uddhav faction to continue using an alternative symbol, the “flaming torch”, till the completion of the upcoming bye-elections. This liberty had been granted by the Election Commission in its order.
The impugned order had been passed by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, after Eknath Shinde moved the Commission with a plea asking it to decide which faction was the real Shiv Sena.
Earlier, the Supreme Court had rejected a plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction that sought to stay the proceedings before the Election Commission.
The political battle between the two leaders dates back to June 2022, when Eknath Shinde rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray with the support of around 40 MLAs.
This rebellion led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which was then led by Uddhav Thackeray.
Following the split, both sides have been fighting a legal and political battle over the control of the party’s name and its traditional symbol.
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Case Title:
Uddhav Thackeray vs. Eknath Sambhaji Shinde & Anr.
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