Jai Maha Bharath Party v. The Chief Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India & Anr

RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW, J. MARCH 21, 2016 Bs/gsr.. (Corrected and released on 29th April, 2016)

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 21st March, 2016. + W.P.(C) 2501/2016 JAI MAHA BHARATH PARTY ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Shri Bhagawaan Shri Rangadeva Shri Anantha Vishwa Vishnudeva Prabhu, President of petitioner-in- person. Versus THE CHIEF ELECTION COMMISSIONER, ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA & ANR. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Pankaj Chopra and Mr. Y.R. Sharma, Advs. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJIV SAHAI ENDLAW CMs. No.10712/2016 & 10713/2016 (both for exemption) 1. Allowed, subject to just exceptions. 2. The application is disposed of. W.P.(C) 2501/2016 & CMs No.10710/2016 (for directions) & 10711/2016 (for stay) 3. This petition dated 15th March, 2016 and which has come up for the first time today seeks the reliefs of: (i) stay of Assembly General Elections 2016 of States of Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala going to be announced by the respondents Election Commission of India (ECI) in the first week of March, 2016; (ii) mandamus to the respondents ECI to allot the petitioner a new common symbol to contest the Assembly General Elections 2016 of the aforesaid States; (iii) quashing of all resemblances, religious connotations, communal connotations and depictions of animal symbols which are already allotted to the registered recognized Political Parties under para 10B of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968; (iv) quashing of Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 (Election Symbols Order) and the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) (Amendment) Order, 2015 dated 26th June, 2015 (Election Symbols Amendment Order); and, (v) mandamus to the respondents ECI to permanently register proposed common symbol of the petitioner, a registered unrecognized Political Party, to contest any General Election to the Legislative Assembly of all States and Lok Sabha, all over India, forever under the umbrella of one common symbol. 4. The petition is drawn and filed by the National President of the petitioner who has also been heard. 5. It is inter alia the case of the petitioner (a) that it is registered under Section 29A of the Representation of People Act, 1951 as a National Level Political Party; (b) that it made an application for a new common symbol to contest Lok Sabha General Election 2014 all over India; (c) however it was not allotted a common symbol due to the arbitrary, illegal and unconstitutional Election Symbols Order and the Election Symbols Amendment Order; (d) that the same was challenged by the petitioner before the Supreme Court in W.P.(C) No.279/2014 and W.P.(C) No.31/2015 which were disposed of vide orders dated 2nd December, 2014 and 1st July, 2015; (e) that though the petitioner participated in the Lok Sabha General Election 2014 but the respondents ECI allotted 13 different election symbols in different Parliamentary Constituencies to the candidates set up by the petitioner; (f) that the said conduct of the respondents ECI is absolutely unfair and impure and violative of Articles 14, 19, 21, 39, 41 & 51 of the Constitution of India; (g) that the petitioner on 21st January, 2016 submitted a proposal to the respondents ECI for allotment of a new common symbol for the Assembly Elections due in the year 2016 and the schedule whereof was likely to be published in the first week of March 2016; (h) however the respondents ECI vide its letter dated 4th February, 2016 has denied the said proposal of the petitioner; (i) that the petitioner filed W.P.(C) No.153/2016 in the Supreme Court in this regard; (j) that though the Supreme Court vide order dated 11th March, 2016 dismissed the petition but with observations that if the petitioner approached the High Court, the High Court will look into the merits of the case and decide the same in accordance with law; (k) that the symbols proposed by the petitioner had no religious connotation; (l) considered in this light, the symbol of Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) also connotes to Lord Vish