Calcutta HC adjourns ISF plea over poll symbol to another party
The Calcutta High Court on Friday adjourned for the day the hearing in the Indian Secular Front’s (ISF) challenge to the poll panel’s decision to reassign the ‘envelope’ symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress faction, both of which are contesting the October 6 Nandigram bypoll.
Noting that some of the counsels of the parties involved in the matter were busy in other courts, Justice Krishna Rao adjourned the hearing of the petition.
“I am very fed up with the authorities of this state now... Once the election (process) starts, every play is started,” Justice Rao told the Election Commission’s counsel Anamika Pandey on Thursday.
She had informed the court that the Indian Secular Front (ISF) was a registered but not a recognised political party, thus entitled to a free symbol. The poll panel has allotted the ‘envelope’ symbol, earlier used by the ISF, to the Democratic Trinamool Congress and gave the Naushad Siddiqui-led party the ‘almirah’ symbol.
The ISF has challenged the EC’s decision. Noting that the Election Commission has 183 free election symbols at its disposal, the court on Thursday sought to know the poll panel’s reason for giving the ‘envelope’ symbol to a party which was contesting the same bypoll as the ISF.
The court said the symbol should have been kept reserved. “The authority should act fairly,” Justice Rao had observed.
On Thursday, it adjourned the hearing to Friday on a prayer by the EC’s counsel for taking instructions on why a notification was not issued for allotment of symbols for the bypolls.
“Your authority is pinching people and creating legal proceedings; is this the way of the authority to work?” Justice Rao had asked the EC’s lawyer. “Every time, for one reason or another, you are compelling people to come to court.”
The EC’s counsel had stated that the choice was upon the petitioners, who contest elections, to choose a symbol. The petitioner’s lawyer disputed the claim, saying it was the poll panel which allots the symbol.
When the court asked why the EC allotted the ‘envelope’ symbol to another political party when the ISF fought the West Bengal assembly polls with that symbol earlier this year, the poll panel’s counsel argued that the party won only one seat in that election, as a result of which the ‘envelope’ symbol became free again.
Justice Rao had also asked the lawyer representing the Democratic Trinamool Congress what interest it has in the envelope. Its lawyer stated that they had given three symbol choices, the first being the ‘envelope’.
The court said the authorities should ensure that elections are held smoothly.
