Delhi HC rejects plea challenging ECI’s authority to grant national, State-level status for political parties

The Delhi High Court connected Friday dismissed a petition challenging the designation of governmental parties arsenic nationalist oregon State-level parties by the Election Commission of India (EC).

The petitioner, the Hind Samrajya Party - a registered governmental party, had challenged the validity of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, for classifying governmental parties arsenic either nationalist parties oregon State parties.

A seat of Justice Nitin Sambre and Justice Anish Dayal held that the issues raised successful the petition were already settled by the Supreme Court, and determination was nary crushed to clasp the said Order to beryllium without immoderate statutory powers oregon discriminatory.

The petitioner argued that the EC illegally recognised the governmental parties astatine nationalist oregon State-level erstwhile it has nary powerfulness to bash so. It asserted that nationalist and State-level governmental parties were allotted predetermination symbols for campaigning overmuch earlier the elections whereas the candidates of a “newly-born governmental party” would get a awesome lone aft the day of scrutiny, leaving it with a precise abbreviated span of time.

Upholds Election Symbols Order

The High Court, however, observed that the apex tribunal has already held that allotment of predetermination symbols could not beryllium claimed arsenic a cardinal right. “We spot nary crushed to judge the contentions of the petitioner truthful arsenic to clasp that not lone the Symbols Order of 1968 is without immoderate statutory powers, but the said Symbols Order is discriminatory, thereby discriminating amongst the ‘recognised’ and ‘unrecognised’ governmental party”.

“Just due to the fact that the petitioner connected relationship of its presumption [U.P.-based governmental party] is not capable to bask the privileges conferred connected a ‘recognised’ governmental party, by itself, volition not pb to a discriminatory attraction being meted retired to the petitioner arsenic the privileges enjoyed by the ‘recognised’ governmental parties are based connected the qualifications which are permitted and satisfied by them nether the Symbols Order of 1968 and besides the Representation of the People Act, 1951,” the tribunal said.