Supreme Court Sets Hearing Date for Petition Challenging Shiv Sena MP Merger

The Supreme Court on Tuesday fixed the date for hearing on a petition on the merger of MPs between two factions of the Shiv Sena. The petition challenges the approval given by the Lok Sabha Speaker to the merger of six MPs of the Uddhav Thackeray faction in the Shiv Sena led by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The bench of Justice P S Narasimha and Justice Alok Aradhe fixed the hearing of the petition for December 8, 2026. Earlier, the bench was told that no one has appeared in the matter on behalf of the Lok Sabha Speaker's office. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, expressed concern over the delay in the proceedings in the Supreme Court. He informed that the Supreme Court had issued a notice in July itself, but the Lok Sabha Speaker's office has not yet made any appearance in the matter. Sibal questioned, "How many more months will we have to wait for him to appear in this matter?"