The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed the plea by Samata Party challenging the Election Commission of India’s decision to allot the “flaming torch” symbol to Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction for the Andheri bypolls in November.
Justice Sanjeev Narula noted that the Samata party was derecognised in 2004 and even if it was allotted the same symbol in 2014 to contest elections, it does not give any “vested right in their favour”.
“In the opinion of the court, since the petitioner lost the status of a recognised party in 2004, the right, if any on the symbol in question, could also have lapsed after the passage of six years in terms or clause 10A of the Election Symbol Order. In such circumstances, the petitioner does not have any right to have the symbol,” the court said in an oral order.
The high court also noted that the petitioner-party had contested elections in 2020 and 2021 on a different symbol.
“Additionally, in absence of any right demonstrable before this court, the petitioner cannot seek the mandamus to quash the notification,” the court said.
{{/usCountry}}“Additionally, in absence of any right demonstrable before this court, the petitioner cannot seek the mandamus to quash the notification,” the court said.
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Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Kamlesh Kumar Mishra claimed that having contested the elections in 2014 on the ‘flaming torch’, the EC should have issued a notification before making it a free symbol and allotting it to another party.
The petitioner has also made a representation to the EC, he said.
For the ECI, advocate Siddhant Kumar said that there is no such requirement mandated in the rules.
The dispute over the symbols of Shiv Sena is pending before the ECI as the poll body had in interim order on October 8 frozen the party’s ‘bow and arrow’ symbol.
The ECI directed both, the Thackeray camp and Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde group, to not use the name ‘Shiv Sena’ or the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol for the upcoming Andheri East assembly bypoll.
The body had on October 10 allotted the name ‘Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena’ to the Shinde faction, and named the other ‘Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)’.
The Thackeray faction was allotted the flaming torch symbol though he had filed a plea in the high court against the freezing of the bow and arrow symbol, and seeking one of his choice.
The petition has not come up for hearing yet.