Supreme Court Schedules January 21 Final Hearing in Shiv Sena Symbol Dispute
The Supreme Court of India has scheduled the final hearing on the Shiv Sena party symbol dispute for January 21, 2026. The case pertains to the plea filed by the Uddhav Thackeray faction, which has challenged the Election Commission’s decision to recognise the Eknath Shinde faction as the real Shiv Sena and allot it the party’s traditional “bow and arrow” symbol.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also allocated three hours each for arguments from both factions. The Court noted that several legal issues in this case overlap with a similar dispute involving the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and decided to hear both matters together.
The upcoming hearing is expected to be decisive, as it may clarify the criteria the Election Commission and courts must apply while determining leadership and symbol ownership within split political parties.
