India, Aug. 6 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that there must be clearly defined criteria to determine the majority in a political party when rival factions stake claim to its name and election symbol, indicating that such disputes cannot be resolved solely on the basis of the numerical strength of legislators.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana made the observations while hearing the challenge by the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction against the Election Commission's February 2023 decision recognising the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the "real Shiv Sena" and allotting it the party's bow-and-arrow symbol. The bench indicated that the concept of "majority" in a political pa...