Supporters of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena broke into a celebration after the Supreme Court gave its verdict on last year's political crisis that had led to the collapse of the tripartite MVA government following a rebellion by the Shinde faction.
They burst firecrackers, distributed sweets and danced to the beats of drums. Satya pareshan ho sakta hain, parajit nahin (truth may be troubled, but never defeated), said one of the supporters.
Earlier in the day, the apex court held that it cannot restore the then Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Uddhav Thackeray as he resigned without facing the floor test in June last year.
In a unanimous verdict on a batch of pleas related to the political crisis that led to the fall of the three-party MVA government led by Thackeray following a revolt by the Shinde faction, a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud held that the then Speaker's decision to appoint Bharat Gogawale of the Shinde faction as the whip of Shiv Sena was “illegal”.