Shiv Sena-UBT's Sanjay Raut placed a conditional apology before the Supreme Court following prompts from the Chief Justice of India, while leaving two matters unresolved — a dispute over the Shiv Sena party symbol and what he described as irregularities in electoral rolls.

Raut put forward the view that, if the Supreme Court had taken issue with remarks he allegedly directed at it, offering an apology to the body entrusted with upholding the Indian Constitution would be entirely reasonable. The Rajya Sabha MP noted that over four years of pursuing a resolution over the Shiv Sena party symbol dispute had built up a level of frustration that may have contributed to his choice of an ill-judged word.

He told the Supreme Court that any statement of his later found to contain an error would draw ten apologies from him for each one. Raut also told those present that the duty of preserving democracy in the nation rests with the people themselves.

The statement came one day after the Supreme Court directed him to account for remarks he had directed at Chief Justice Surya Kant. Notices were dispatched by the Supreme Court to Sanjay Raut and journalist Nikhil Wagle after the Supreme Court Bar Association filed a plea calling for criminal contempt proceedings tied to statements both men had made about the Chief Justice of India.

In a statement to the court, Raut maintained that no contempt had been intended, pointing to widespread public frustration over what he described as irregularities in elections, the movement of politicians between parties, and the way constitutional bodies had been operating. The Shiv Sena UBT leader described the Supreme Court as the final avenue available to those in pursuit of justice, adding that he intended to keep bringing matters before it.

Addressing the Opposition's petition concerning reported discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Raut told reporters that while he had offered an apology, he was still seeking a fair resolution to the matter.

Raut also pointed to earlier statements he had made regarding what he described as delays in the ongoing proceedings tied to the name and symbol dispute of the undivided Shiv Sena — a party that fractured in 2022 when Eknath Shinde, now serving as Maharashtra's deputy chief minister, mounted a rebellion against the then-party president Uddhav Thackeray — while calling for the restoration of electoral rights to 13 crore voters whose names had been removed from voter rolls. The faction under Shinde's leadership was awarded use of the party's established name along with its bow-and-arrow electoral symbol, after which a spokesperson appealed for public understanding of the distress felt within the group.

Approximately four and a half years had elapsed since the dispute began. A legal case over the Shiv Sena name and party symbol remains before the courts. Over the course of the proceedings, four Chief Justices of India rotated through the bench, and a new administration took office.

Those seeking accountability called for the matter to be heard and acted upon. The group put forward a single condition for any agreement. Raut went on to say that, should the demand prove to be in the wrong, he would offer his apologies to the Supreme Court.