NEW DELHI: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court set February 14 for the hearing of the case stemming from Eknath Shinde and other MLAs' revolt against Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray in Maharashtra.

In front of a five-judge panel led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, senior attorney Kapil Sibal, speaking for the Thackeray group, argued that the matter needed to be resolved quickly because the Election Commission was investigating the issue of authority over the party and its emblem.

Sibal also said that the court must first decide whether to refer the Nabam Rabia case's 2016 five-judge ruling to the seven-judge panel. The ruling limited the Speaker's ability to evaluate disqualification petitions while a resolution calling for his ouster was still pending.

The matter will be heard on February 14 by the panel, which also includes Justices M.R. Shah, Krishna Murari, Hima Kohli, and P.S. Narasimha. Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction was represented by senior attorney Neeraj Kishan Kaul and attorney Abhikalp Pratap Singh. Attorney General Tushar Mehta acted as the Governor's representative.

A three-judge panel of the Supreme Court announced in August that a five-judge constitution bench will consider a group of petitions submitted by the Uddhav Thackeray faction and Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde about questions including defection, merger, and disqualification.

In its reference order, a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court framed the first issue as to whether a Speaker's right to pursue disqualification proceedings under the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution is restricted by receiving notice of his impending removal, as this court had held in Nebam Rabia (by a five-judge bench).

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