The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to not decide on the Shinde camp’s claim to be the real Shiv Sena as of now.
Chief Justice of India NV Ramana said the bench will take a call by Monday on whether the matter of the Maharashtra political crisis will be sent to a larger bench.
The Election Commission had fixed August 8 to hear the claim of the Eknath Shinde faction.
“Let no precipitative action be taken… we are not passing any order. But at the same time, don’t take any precipitative action,” the CJI said.
As the CJI heard all the sides, Kapil Sibal appearing for the Uddhav faction said the Shinde faction MLAs are not members of the party anymore, while Harish Salve, for the Shinde faction, said there is nothing to show that these MLAs have left the party.
Shinde had submitted that courts shouldn’t interfere with internal party decisions “taken democratically by majority”.
During the hearing, CJI Ramana asked important questions to Eknath Shinde’s camp, wanting to know if “If you are completely ignoring political parties after being elected then is it not a danger to democracy”.
Thackeray camp doesn’t want the Election Commission to decide yet. Earlier, it asked the court to stop the EC from taking any decision until a verdict on pleas seeking disqualification of “rebel” MLAs led by Shinde.
The Election Commission had sought evidence from both sides by August 8, after which it was to hear the matter.
