Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Sept 7: A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to hear on September 27 the interim application moved by the Uddhav Thackeray group to restrict the Election Commission of India from deciding the claim raised by Eknath Shinde group for recognition as the official Shiv Sena party.
A bench of 5 judges including judges D.Y. Chandrachud, M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli and P.S. Narasimha heard a series of petitions submitted by members of two groups challenging different actions of the Speaker/Deputy Speaker and Governor regarding political developments in Maharashtra.
When the case came to light, lead lawyer Neeraj Kishan Kaul, representing Shinde Group, argued that it was impossible to stop the Election Commission of India from making a decision. The lead attorney also cited the urgency of the impending local elections. He pointed out that the first bench of 3 judges headed by then CJI NV Ramana did not issue any suspension orders to the ECI.
Chief counsel Kapil Sibal, representing the Uddhav Group, recalled the August 3 proceedings in which the panel asked the ECI not to take any hasty action. Sibal also referred to the August 3 order, which granted Uddhav Group freedom to ask for time, and asked the ECI to consider the adjournment request taking into account the expectation of the case before the Supreme Court.
The apex court said that it will not decide the IA today and asked the counsels to “reserve their energy” for September 27.
