New Delhi, May 15 The Supreme Court on Friday expressed strong displeasure over "irresponsible statements" of some politicians alleging non-hearing of the Shiv Sena symbol row case in the top court, and cautioned that they should be careful as such conduct can't be accepted.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that parties before it had sought dates in the matter and then statements were being made that the apex court was not deciding the case.
"We will fix the date but first you stop your people from going to the media and making irresponsible statements saying that the Supreme Court is not deciding," an visibly anguished CJI told the counsel appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction.
"You seek dates here and then say that the court is not deciding the matter. We are issuing a warning. Be careful in using your words. I am not a person who will accept this conduct," the CJI said.
The bench, which said it expects cooperation from both the sides, questioned why some politicians were making such statements.
Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Eknath Shinde-led faction, said litigants don't have the right to make such statements against the court.
"We know how much pressure is there on the courts. Our side has not said so. It should not be said by any side," he said, adding that the court has always shown patience to all litigants.
The CJI observed, "We are sitting here till 4 PM and if somebody thinks that we are sitting idle, we can't understand that."
Senior advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction, said lawyers would never support any such statements and they were ready to argue the matter as per the court's convenience.
The bench posted the matter for hearing on July 30.
The court was hearing two pleas, including the one filed by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction of the Shiv Sena against the Election Commission's order allotting the 'bow and arrow' symbol to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led faction.
The top court had earlier said that after hearing the Shiv Sena matter, it would hear arguments on a similar dispute concerning the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as there are several overlapping issues involved in both cases.
The Uddhav faction has challenged the February 17, 2023 order of the Election Commission which has allotted the name 'Shiv Sena' and its poll symbol 'bow and arrow' to the group led by Shinde.
The Thackeray faction has also questioned the Maharashtra Speaker's decision to hand over the party's name and symbol to the opposite faction based on the legislative majority saying it was contrary to a constitution bench verdict of the top court.
In January 2024, Speaker Rahul Narwekar rejected Shiv Sena-UBT's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs including Shinde of the ruling camp.
Challenging the orders passed by the Speaker in the apex court, the Thackeray faction claimed they were "patently unlawful and perverse" and instead of punishing the act of defection, they rewarded the defectors by holding that they comprised the real political party.
The Speaker, the plea claimed, erred in holding that the majority of the Shiv Sena legislators represented the will of the Shiv Sena party.
