Date:08/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/08/stories/2008040859890900.htm

National

Notice to EC on Swamy’s plea

Legal Correspondent

High Court had rejected his petition against order on symbol

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission on a special leave petition by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy against a Delhi High Court judgment that rejected his plea challenging the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, under which the party ceased to be a recognised political party.

A Bench, comprising Justices Ashok Bhan and Dalveer Bhandari issued the notice after hearing Dr. Swamy, who said important questions of law were raised in the petition. Mr. Justice Bhandari told the petitioner, “That is why we have issued notice.”

Dr. Swamy said the Janata Party lost its status as a national party because of its poor performance in the 1996 general elections.

The Election Commission, by its September 27, 2000 order, said his party ceased to be a national party and in terms of the Symbols Order it could not use the “Chakra Haldar” symbol. The High Court rejected his petition. Hence the present appeal.

Dr. Swamy contended that the Janata Party contested elections on that symbol for the last 30 years and had become identified with it.

The symbol was much like a trade mark, insignia or academic degrees, which once given could not be taken away.

He said the Symbols Order was amended to partially allow the party to use the symbol for another six years as a concession to recover its recognition status.

Key questions

Dr. Swamy said he was not challenging the loss of recognition but only the Symbols Order, which was arbitrary, unreasonable and biased against enlightened party politics.

Important questions of law of general importance were to be decided in this SLP — “whether once a political party had been granted an election symbol and has perfected its right to the exclusive use of this symbol by long usage for voter recognition, the Commission can refuse to allot the same symbol to such party and/or allot it to any other party or candidate unconnected in any way with the de-recognised political party; whether a classification that seeks to group together recognised parties, which have been de-recognised, with un-recognised parties that have never been recognised is not liable to be struck down as violative of Article 14 of the Constitution [equality before law] and whether the Symbols Order inasmuch as it penalises a party for poor performance does not go beyond its declared objects.”