There was nothing wrong with swearing-in of Eknath Shinde as CM of Maharashtra after the political crisis in the Shiv Sena last year, the Shinde faction contended before a five-judge Constitution bench during the resumed hearing of the case on Tuesday.

Appearing for the group, senior advocate Harish Salve defended the then Maharashtra governor BS Koshyari’s action, which was questioned by the Uddhav Thackeray faction. Salve said “defection is only when a sizable number defects”. When the bench asked what that number was, Salve said it was ‘not for the court to decide’.

He contended the governor could not engage in head counting in Raj Bhavan to ‘prevent politics from entering’ governor’s residence. Salve contended the Thackeray faction has asked the court to “embark on a journey which is entirely political in nature and to speculate what would have happened if a trust vote took place then”.

Also representing the Shinde faction, senior advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul argued, “internal dissent is the hallmark of democracy.” He alleged that the Thackeray faction was asking the court to ‘bypass’ the Speaker, EC and governor. “If a governor is satisfied that a government has lost confidence of the House, it is the duty of the governor to call a floor test.” The hearing will continue on Wednesday