E-Paper
Supreme Court rejects plea demanding removal of political party symbols on EVMs
A bench, led by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, observed that the merits of a candidate cannot be completely segregated from his party since electors keep both the factors in mind when they cast their votes
New Delhi: An election is integrally connected to the political party which backs a particular candidate, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday as it declined to entertain a petition demanding that the party symbol should be removed from Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs).
A bench, led by Chief Justice of India Uday Umesh Lalit, observed that the merits of a candidate cannot be completely segregated from his party since electors keep both the factors in mind when they cast their votes.
Besides, the bench, which also comprised justice Bela M Trivedi, added that the entire anti-defection law is premised on the connection between a candidate and the political party on whose ticket he or she contests.
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“If the candidate has been nominated by a political party and his name appears along with the party symbol, what is wrong or obnoxious with that?” asked the bench, as it declined to entertain a PIL filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay.
Upadhyay’s petition sought the inclusion of the name, age, qualification and photograph of a candidate instead of the party symbol since it would enable voters to make an informed choice.
During the hearing, attorney general R Venkataramani opposed the plea stating that EVM came at the end of a polling process and voters choose their candidate much before that. Additionally, he submitted that all details of a candidate are required to be disclosed beforehand.
The bench then proceeded to dispose of the petition with an observation that the Election Commission may consider Upadhyay’s suggestion and take appropriate decisions.
