Supreme Court sets deadline for Election Commission to decide TMC name and symbol dispute
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take a decision regarding the dispute between two factions of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the party name and its ‘flower and grass’ symbol within three months after it receives pleadings from the two sides. Further, it asked the two factions to submit their pleadings within the next four weeks.
The observations were made by a three-judge bench of the apex court that included Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.
During the hearing, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, who was representing the poll body, said the ECI must be allotted at least six months of time to decide on the matter. He said the poll body has sent notices to both sides and is waiting for their response.
To this, the court replied that the two factions need to submit their responses within four weeks.
“We grant four weeks’ time to the contesting respondents and the petitioner to place on record additional documents, affidavits and counter-affidavits, etc. Let pleadings be completed in all respects within four weeks. The Election Commission of India shall take three months thereafter to decide the symbol issue,” Bar and Bench quoted Kant as saying.
Naidu argued that the ECI would need six months and taking a decision in three months would be “very difficult”. However, Justice Bagchi told the senior advocate that “three months is good enough”.
“You have three months after the pleadings are completed,” Justice Bagchi said, as cited by Bar and Bench.
The top court passed the order while hearing a plea filed by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee against the EC’s decision to freeze the TMC’s name and party symbol. The Election Commission had allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following its interim decision to bar both groups from using the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’ name and its reserved symbol pending a substantive determination of the dispute.
In its interim order, the poll panel, after hearing leaders of the two factions led by Banerjee and Arup Roy, said the matter requires substantive determination by the poll body under provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968.
