The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on Wednesday the plea by former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray against the Election Commission’s decision recognising Shiv Sena faction led by the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as real Shiv Sena and allotting him party’s election symbol of ‘Bow and Arrow’.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justice P S Narasimha, upon a mentioning by senior advocate Kapil Sibal seeking an urgent hearing, said that they would curtail the constitution bench hearing by half-an hour and take up the matter for hearing  at 3.30 pm.

As Sibal said that the same can be done today itself, CJI Chandrachud said that they would not like to deal with the matter without going through it.

Seeking a stay on the poll panel’s order, Sibal said lest Shinde camp takes over everything, including the bank accounts and the party offices.

Declining Sibal’s plea to hear the matter on Wednesday morning, CJI Chandrachud said he cannot make the other three judges on the constitution bench to wait. He reiterated that on Wednesday, the constitution bench will rise half an hour earlier and hear Thackeray group’s plea against EC order.

 “We will finish the constitution bench and get up a little early and then take it up on Wednesday”, the CJI told Sibal.

The constitution bench hearing that commenced on Tuesday will be on a day to day basis and is likely to continue for a few days in row. Taking up any matter at the start of the day will disrupt the hearing  of the constitution bench.

Opposing Sibal’s plea for an urgent hearing, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, appearing for Shinde camp which has filed a caveat, urged the court not to hear Thackeray camp’s plea and instead send them to Bombay High Court.

Thackeray faction’s plea said the Election Commission has failed to appreciate that the petitioner enjoys overwhelming support in the rank and file of the party.

“The petitioner has an overwhelming majority in the Pratinidhi Sabha, which is the apex representative body, representing the wishes of the primary members and other stakeholders of the party. The Pratinidhi Sabha is the apex body recognised under Article VIII of the (Shiv Sena) Party constitution. The petitioner enjoys the support of 160 members out of approximately 200 odd members in the Pratinidhi Sabha”, it has said.

The plea contended that the poll panel has failed to discharge its duties as a neutral arbiter of disputes under para 15 of the symbols order and has acted in a manner undermining its constitutional status.

On February 17, the Election Commission allotted the Shiv Sena party name and the bow and arrow symbol to the faction led by Eknath Shinde.

 “The ECI has disregarded the party constitution of 2018 (which was admitted even by the respondent No.1 to be the Constitution governing the parties) on the ground that such a constitution is undemocratic and that it was not communicated to the Commission. These observations are totally erroneous as the amendments in the Constitution were categorically communicated to the Commission in 2018 itself and the petitioner will place clear evidence in this regard,” said the plea, seeking interim stay on the ECI order passed on February 17.