4 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 22, 2026 01:11 PM IST
The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court challenging Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s decision to recognise the merger of six of its MPs with the rival Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Senior Advocate Devadatt Kamat, appearing for the petitioner, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Ganpat Sawant, mentioned the matter before Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, who was presiding over a three-judge bench, and sought an urgent hearing.
“Six of these MPs decide unilaterally, without the merger of the original political party, and say we have merged with the rival. We contested against that political party,” Kamat submitted.
When the CJI questioned the urgency, the senior counsel urged the bench to hear the matter on Wednesday or Friday, saying, “The urgency is that my functioning as a political party in Parliament has come to an absolute standstill. These MPs are not with me because the Speaker has recognised their merger with some other political party. This is intended for Parliament session.”The CJI said that he could not promise it would be listed this week. “Will see,” he added.
July 18 circular ‘unconstitutional’
On July 18, two days before the Monsoon Session in Parliament began, Birla recognised the merger of six Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs—Sanjay Jadhav, Sanjay Patil, Sanjay Deshmukh, Omraje Nimbalkar, Nagesh Patil Ashtikar and Bhausaheb Wakchaure—with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
Sawant’s writ petition challenges “the ex-facie unconstitutional, illegal, and perverse circular dated 18.07.2026…issued by the Joint Secretary, Lok Sabha Secretariat…” recognising the merger.
Sawant said these MPs were given tickets by the Shiv Sena (UBT) and contested the Lok Sabha elections on the name and symbol belonging to party (flaming torch or mashaal). “The entire organisation, rank and file, and the leadership of the political party put immense effort and resources in campaigning for and securing their “victory…from their respective constituencies”, the petition said.
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It further added that the electorate of these constituencies reposed faith in the ideology and leadership of Uddhav Thackeray. “The Lok Sabha elections in 2024 were fought, inter alia, against the candidates sponsored by Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde. The campaign, inter alia, revolved around usurpation of the legacy of Balasaheb Thackeray by Eknath Shinde through illegal means and unconstitutionally orchestrated defections. The electorate of their constituencies, in electing…accepted and validated the campaign carried out by the SS (UBT) leadership and organisation,” the petition stated.
Constitutional hara-kiri: Shiv Sena (UBT) to Supreme Court
The MPs, Sawant said in the petition, “have betrayed the faith of the electorate”, and added that their action “in defiance of their parent political party is without any constitutional or legal sanction” and “is a blatant affront to the very concept of parliamentary democracy enshrined in the Constitution which is based on the functioning of political parties”.
The plea said “the impugned circular amounts to a constitutional hara-kiri, and weakens the very foundation of our parliamentary democracy. In fact, the present case is a stark example of the prevailing constitutional crisis surrounding the functioning of political parties in Parliament and in state Legislative Assemblies.”
It urged the court to “discharge its role as the guardian of the Constitution to issue effective directions striking down the impugned circular and nullify the attempts of” the MPs “to undermine the democratic framework by functioning in the House in collusion with rival political parties.”
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The petitioner said that “parliamentary democracy being a part of the basic structure of our Constitution”, it is imperative for the court “to save our democracy from the political machinations” of MPs.
