India, Oct. 7 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally asked whether the "sentiment of the symbol" operates for persons who have committed the "constitutional sin" of defection, as it heard arguments on whether the EC was right to rely primarily on legislative strength to allot the symbol to the Shinde faction.

The observation was made by a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana during the hearing on a batch of pleas arising from the split in Shiv Sena, including challenges to the Election Commission's decision recognising the Eknath Shinde-led faction as the real party and allotting it the bow-and-arrow election symbol.

The bench was hearing arguments by senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, app...