SC to hear 'Sena vs Sena' dispute on April 8, seeks response from Shinde's faction by April 1

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday listed the hearing of the petition filed by Uddhav Thackeray's faction on 'Sena vs Sena' dispute on April 8. The court also asked Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde's faction to file a response to Uddhav Thackeray group's plea positively on or before April 1.

In a response to forgery allegations by the Shinde faction, the Supreme Court also summoned all original records about the disqualification of MLAs of Eknath Shinde group, including the chief minister, from the office of Maharashtra speaker.

The Thackeray faction also urged the court to decide the matter at the earliest, reminding the court that elections are approaching therefore time is of the essence and opposite sides haven't filed a reply.

Adding that this matter is worthy of being heard by the apex court, the court posted the matter for hearing in the second week of April. The court also said that it was keeping the issue of maintainability of the petition.

Earlier, in May last year, the top court had said that the decision on the 'real Sena' had to be about more than numbers and the speaker should not base his decision on " a blind appreciation of which group possesses a majority in the Legislative Assembly."

On January 10, Maharashtra speaker Narwekar ruled in favour of the Shinde faction, calling it the original Shiv Sena and holding, therefore, that disqualification of its MLAs could not be sought by the Thackeray faction.

Relying on the legislative strength of the Shinde camp, Narwekar's final ruling noted it had a strength of 37 of 55 seats.
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