What happened (Supreme Court in the Shiv Sena (UBT) petitions)
The Supreme Court heard the final arguments on petitions filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) faction challenging an Election Commission of India order dated 17 February 2023. During the hearing, a Bench led by the Chief Justice, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana, said the Court first has to determine whether a split in Shiv Sena existed and where that split began.
A key part of the Court’s discussion focused on whether a split confined to the legislature party could later spread into: (a) the Shiv Sena’s organisational structure and (b) the party’s primary membership. The Court observed that if the split spreads beyond the legislature party, it may point to the “epicentre” of a broader split that the Election Commission could consider under the Tenth Schedule, Paragraph 15 framework (Paragraph 15 is the anti-defection provision used in cases involving splits/mergers of political parties).
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