Majority legislators cannot overrule will of political party: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court emphasized on August 5, 2026, that a majority of legislators cannot overrule the official directives of their political party simply due to their numerical superiority. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant led a three-judge Bench, including Justice Joymalya Bagchi, stating that the health of democracy is reflected in the unity of political parties and their members with their ideology.

The case revolved around the Shiv Sena's internal dispute between factions led by Uddhav Thackeray and current Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who had split after Shinde, supported by 40 out of 55 party MLAs, rebelled and left Thackeray's party. This led to the downfall of Thackeray's government, with Shinde subsequently forming a coalition government with the BJP.

The Election Commission later declared Shinde as the "real" Shiv Sena, granting his party the party symbol. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Thackeray, argued that such "mergers" orchestrated by factions of MLAs/MPs were not driven by democratic or ideological considerations but were an attempt to seize power. Sibal asserted that the control of a political party extends over its legislature party, and any valid decision of the political party should supersede the will of the majority of the legislature party.

He questioned whether a few legislators could unilaterally decide to merge with another party without the knowledge or consent of the parent party. The court aimed to strike a balance between the electorate's decision to elect a party and the individual representatives' right to express genuine dissent with the party's decisions.

Sibal contended that the Election Commission's decision was flawed, as it was based on which faction held the majority in the legislature party. The court also recognized the distinction between the original political party and the legislature party, as defined in the Tenth Schedule, which allows Members to defend a merger or split initiated by the original political party against disqualification actions.