New Delhi, Aug 19 The Uddhav Thackeray-led faction on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the use of the name of 'Shiv Sena' and its election symbol by the Eknath Shinde-led group was "illegitimate".
The top court was urged to at least prevent the Shinde group from using them if it does not immediately restore the symbol to the Thackeray faction.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was also told that the MLAs of the Eknath Shinde-led group, facing disqualification proceedings on account of alleged defection, cannot take the defence that they constitute the original political party.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the Thackeray faction, said that recognising the Shinde-led camp as the "real" party would amount to rewarding a "constitutional sin".
"The MLAs, facing disqualification proceedings, cannot take the defence that they constitute the real political party," Kamat said.
Advancing final arguments on the seventh day, Sibal urged the bench to set aside the Election Commission's (EC) decision to allot the "bow-and-arrow" symbol to the Shinde camp.
He assailed the Shinde faction's reliance on legislative majority, saying that the Tenth Schedule (on anti-defection) of the Constitution was designed to "nip the sin of defection in the bud".
"Please do not interpret the Tenth Schedule in a manner which allows defections to take place. Defection is a constitutional sin," Sibal said.
He contended that the support Shinde garnered after the initial split in June and July 2022 cannot be used to legitimise his claim.
"If you say that after July 19 he acquired this much support and therefore that subsequent support can be relied upon, you are encouraging defection. When somebody is in power, this is bound to happen," he said.
He said the use of the Shiv Sena name and symbol by the Shinde faction was "illegitimate". If the court does not immediately restore the symbol to Thackeray, it must at least prevent Shinde from using it, he said.
"The Shiv Sena name belongs to Thackeray. The Shinde faction cannot have the symbol. If he cannot have it and I cannot have it, the symbol must be frozen," Sibal said.
Kamat focused on the legal "conundrum" of parallel proceedings before the Lok Sabha speaker and the Election Commission (EC).
He said that the speaker's order, which favoured the Shinde camp, was illegal and had a "definitive impact" on the symbol dispute.
Kamat said that the EC was not justified in applying the "test of legislative majority" while the legality of the MLAs' status was still in question.
The hearing would resume on Thursday.
The bench was hearing two pleas filed in 2024 by the Thackeray faction against the EC's order allotting the "bow-and-arrow" symbol to the Shinde camp.
The pleas have also challenged the February 17, 2023 order of the poll panel, recognising the Shinde faction as the original Shiv Sena.
