HC reserves order on Uddhav Thackeray's appeal against decision freezing party name, symbol
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Thursday reserved its order on an appeal by former Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray challenging a single judge's decision dismissing his plea against an Election Commission interim order freezing the Shiv Sena name and election symbol.
Thackeray claimed that the single judge's November 15 order, by which it had also directed the EC to expedite the proceedings, is "erroneous" and liable to be set aside.
A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad, after hearing arguments of counsels for both the parties, said, "We will pass appropriate orders."
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Thackeray, submitted that the EC did not hear him while passing the freezing of symbol order.
"Never in the history of the commission, freezing order has been passed without hearing the party," he argued.
The single judge bench, in its order, had said that there was "no procedural infraction" in the EC's order freezing the Shiv Sena's name and election symbol following a "split" in the party.
It had said the commission passed the freezing order in view of urgency in respect of allotment of symbol on account of announcement of bypolls and the petitioner, who repeatedly took time to furnish necessary documents, now cannot allege violation of principles of natural justice and criticise the poll panel.
"There is a split between members of the 'Shiv Sena', a recognised political party in the state of Maharashtra. One group or faction is led by Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde and the other by Uddhav Thackeray. Both claim to be the president of the original Shiv Sena party, and stake claim to its poll symbol of 'bow and arrow'," the single judge had noted in its order.
Thackeray, in his appeal, claimed that there was no dispute on the leadership of the party and that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknathrao Sambhaji Shinde himself admitted that Thackeray is and continues to be the rightfully elected president of the Shiv Sena political party.
Therefore, it cannot be said that there are two rival factions of the Shiv Sena political party, he said.
On October 8, the EC had passed an interim order barring the two Shiv Sena factions from using the party's name and its election symbol in the Andheri East assembly bypoll.
The commission's order was passed on a "dispute petition" filed by Shinde.
Earlier this year, Shinde had raised a banner of revolt against Thackeray, accusing him of entering into an "unnatural alliance" with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
Over 40 of the Shiv Sena's 55 MLAs had supported Shinde, forcing Thackeray's resignation as chief minister.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Crowd management efforts ramped up at Maha Kumbh after stampede
Mahakumbh Nagar (PTI): A day after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh left 30 dead, the Uttar Pradesh government ramped up efforts to ensure crowd management and safety of devotees who continued to flock here in large numbers for the religious gathering.
The devotees braved the pre-dawn chill and dense fog to take a dip in the Sangam and at other ghats here on Thursday.
More than 55.11 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip till 8:00 am, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Anshuman Mishra told PTI that the area would remain a no-vehicle zone until the crowd disperses completely.
"Vehicle passes will not be valid until all devotees have safely left for their destinations. No outside vehicles would be allowed to enter the city until the crowd exits the Mela area," he said.
However, senior officials may grant permission for vehicle entry based on the situation, he said.
Mishra clarified that essential services such as police administration vehicles, ambulances and suction machines would be allowed entry as they are crucial for the smooth management of the Maha Kumbh.
Pilgrims, including women and children, were seen walking to and fro the various ghats amid reduced visibility. Many had thin blankets covering their bodies while some stopped by bonfires along the routes to keep themselves warm.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Director General of Police Prashant Kumar are scheduled to reach here later in the day for a detailed probe into the stampede.
The top officers would also conduct a thorough review of the arrangements in the Mela area, Chief Minister Adityanath said on Wednesday night.
"Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami (Feb 3 - Amrit Snan)," he said.
In a bid to further strengthen the arrangements, the Uttar Pradesh government will also be deploying two former senior officers on Mela duty -- Ashish Goyal, who served as divisional commissioner of Prayagraj for the 2019 Kumbh, and Bhanu Goswami, former vice chairman of the Agra Development Authority.
Additionally, five special secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations. All of them will remain in Prayagraj till February 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements, Adityanath said.
Besides 30 deaths, 60 people were injured in the pre-dawn stampede on Wednesday in the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
Maha Kumbh DIG Vaibhav Krishna said the incident took place due to crowd pressure. The crowd broke barricades and jumped to the other side, crushing those waiting there, he said.
On Wednesday, more than 7.64 crore devotees had a 'snan' at the Maha Kumbh, the highest in a single day so far. The footfall since the beginning of the mega event had crossed 27.58 crore by the end of Wednesday, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Maha Kumbh kicked off on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
