You Take A Date Here & Say We Are Not Deciding: Supreme Court Rebukes UBT Shiv Sena Over Remarks Before Media

The Supreme Court issued a warning to the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (UBT) faction of Shiv Sena on Friday, condemning "irresponsible statements" made to the media regarding the alleged delay in the Supreme Court deciding the Shiv Sena split dispute.

The Court expressed sharp displeasure at the party's conduct, noting the contradiction in seeking specific hearing dates while publicly accusing the judiciary of stalling the matter.

The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed strong displeasure over "irresponsible statements" targeting the Court’s handling of the long-pending case. When counsel for the UBT side requested a date for the final hearing, the CJI responded, "First, you stop your people from going to the media and making irresponsible statements, you seek date here and then say that Supreme Court is not deciding. We are issuing a warning. Be careful on using your words. I am not a person who will accept this kind of conduct. Here you don't want to argue, there you make a statement."

The CJI remarked that it was unacceptable for a party to seek adjournments in the courtroom while simultaneously criticizing the Court for delays in public forums.

"When the matter is taken up, you say fix the date. When we fix the date, you say...why this particular politician is making such statements?" Chief Justice Kant asked Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat who was appearing for the UBT side.

Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat emphasized that his clients were "anxious" due to the three-year wait for a resolution. However, he maintained that the lawyers themselves would never support public criticism of the bench. He assured the Court that the UBT side is ready for a "full-fledged hearing" as soon as the judicial schedule permits.

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi said, "This should not be happening on any. We know how much pressure is upon the court. Your Lordships have been kind in hearing everybody. This is completely unacceptable."

Chief Justice said, "We are sitting here till 4 PM. If somebody finds us sitting idle, we can understand that...We know that all the matters cannot be heard on one date, so we keep on adjusting everything.”

On January 15, the Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena moved the Supreme Court challenging Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar's order declaring the Sena bloc led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the "real political party" after its split in June 2022. The speaker had also rejected the Thackeray faction's plea to disqualify 16 MLAs of the ruling camp, including Shinde.

In his ruling on the disqualification petitions on January 10, the speaker had not disqualified any MLA from the rival camps. The ruling further cemented Shinde's position as the Chief Minister, 18 months after he led a rebellion against Thackeray, and added to his political heft in the ruling coalition, which also consists of the BJP and the NCP (Ajit Pawar group), ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the summer and state assembly elections due in the second half of 2024.

Accordingly, the Court listed the matter in July 2026.

Cause Title: Sunil Prabhu v. Eknath Shinde and Ors. [SLP(C) No.1644 -1662/2024]