Election symbol: HC notice to all recognised parties

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has issued a notice to all the political parties recognised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as national level

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has issued a notice to all the political parties recognised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) as national level parties to respond as to why a writ petition in the matter of the election symbol be not accepted.

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“The notice upon all the political parties is required to be served through respondent Election Commission of India,” the court said.

A division bench of chief justice Govind Mathur and justice Pankaj Bhatia passed the order on a writ petition filed by a lawyer Shraddha Tripathi, seeking directions for no political party should be allowed to use the election symbol as its party logo on its flags and other propaganda material.

The petitioner submitted that the recognised political parties are using the election symbols as their party logo which, as a matter of fact, is allotted by the Election Commission only to use for voting during the parliamentary or assembly elections, as the case may be.

The scheme of election under Article 324 of the Constitution of India, Representation of the People Act 1951 and the Rules and Orders framed thereunder provides for allotment of symbol to contesting candidates for participation in elections. Such a symbol cannot be permanently used by political parties as their party logo, the petitioner said, asserting that even a reserved symbol is only for one election and that cannot be used and treated as a perpetual election symbol of that specific recognised political party.

The petitioner stated that for the purpose of election all contesting candidates, including free/independent candidates or the candidates nominated by the political parties, stand on the same footing and as such the Election Commission allots the symbol to them for the election purpose only.

If the reserved election symbol is allowed to be used as a party logo, then that would be in contravention of the provisions of the Act of 1951, the Rules of 1961 and the Order of 1968, the petitioner said.

The reserved election symbol is only for one process of election and not for elections, which are to be conducted in future also. The reserved election symbols in a democratic republic are required to be changed for all the political parties in every election process. The law occupying the field does not permit to have perpetual election symbol for political parties, the petitioner added.

“Having considered the argument advanced, we deem it appropriate to call upon all the political parties recognised by the Election Commission of India as national level parties to respond as to why this petition for writ be not accepted, as prayed,” the court said. It listed the case on February 17 for final hearing.