oppn parties Setback For Thackeray Group: SC Refuses Interim Stay Against EC Order

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Setback For Thackeray Group: SC Refuses Interim Stay Against EC Order

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-02-23 07:50:52

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Supreme Court has refused to grant an interim stay to the Uddhav Thackeray group of the Shiv Sena against the Election Commission (EC) order giving the party name and symbol to the Eknath Shinde group and, for all practical purposes, recognizing it as the 'real' Shiv Sena. The court said that it was not in favour of giving a stay without hearing the other side. Accordingly, the court issued a notice to the Shinde group to file their response within 15 days and a week’s time thereafter to the Thackeray group to submit a rejoinder before it would hear the case again.

There was an intense legal tussle during the hearing for the stay. Lawyers representing the Thackeray group raised two matters which they said would put the Thackeray group at a disadvantage if the stay was not granted. Firstly, they said that if the Shinde group was not restrained, they would take over all assets and bank accounts of the party citing the EC order which recognized it as the 'real' Shiv sena for all practical purposes. Then, they said that the Shinde group could also take steps to disqualify the MLAs of the Thackeray group on the strength of the EC order.

But the court refused to grant any relief on both the points raised. The court said that since the EC order just awarded the party name and symbol to the Shinde group, it did not expressly give it any right to claim assets and bank accounts, the point raised cannot be taken up in the plea for the stay as it did was not in the EC order.

For the point about disqualification, the court was satisfied by the answer given by the Shinde group that there was an understanding between the two groups that matters will not be precipitated until the courts decided the earlier disqualification matter. The Shinde group categorically said that it had no plans to issue new disqualification notices to the MLAs of the Thackeray group on the basis of the EC order. Hence, the court chose not to grant any relief to the Thackeray group on this point too.

While it is true that the Shinde group has started taking over some offices and other assets of the Shiv Sena claiming to be the ‘real’ party after the EC order, it is also true that until the Supreme Court decides the matter of the legality of the EC order, all such machinations by the Shinde group are temporary. If the Supreme Court holds the EC order faulty or illegal and decides in favour of the Thackeray group, all acquisitions by the Shinde group will be null and void. Hence, the Thackeray group will have to wait till hearings are completed on its plea challenging the EC order.