The Delhi High Court has dismissed a petition challenging the Election Symbol (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1968, regarding reservation of election symbol only for recognised registered political parties.
The Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela on Friday rejected the petition filed by Janata Party on the grounds that the issue has been settled in several verdicts.
Terming the Order as discriminatory, the petitioner contended that symbols allotted to any registered political party could not be separated from the party being its integral part.
Till the party was registered with the Election Commission of India (ECI), it could not be declared as unrecognised and election symbol allotted to any political party may not be snatched from and denied to any registered political party, it added.
Appearing for the Election Commission, Advocate Siddhant Kumar said that the issue was covered by various decisions, including Supreme Court’s judgment in Subramanian Swamy v. ECI (2008) and Delhi High Court decision in Samta Party v. ECI (2022).
The Bench found merit in Advocate Kumar’s arguments and observed that as per settled judgments, political parties could not consider election symbols as their exclusive property.
The top court of the country further said that the symbol could be lost by a party on account of their dismal performance.
The petitioner contended that election symbols could not be denied and snatched from any registered political party on the ground that the party has become unrecognised as it could not secure 6 percent valid votes in the last election.
It said the classification in itself seemed to be unnatural and contradictory as to how the party, which was a registered political party, could become an unrecognised party on the basis that it could not secure a minimum percentage of votes in the last election.
The identity and soul of any political party was the name of the political party as well as its symbol, which could not be denied to any registered political party, said the plea.
The petitioner contended that it was a national party with a symbol of a plough on the shoulder of the farmer but now this symbol has been denied and snatched away from the petitioner on the grounds that it has become a registered, unrecognised party.
The petitioner further submitted that it was compelled to fight the elections without its election symbol and chose a symbol from a list of free symbols.
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