The Supreme Court today observed that delay in solving matters linked to factional fights over a political party’s name and symbol would be detrimental to the electoral process. The observation came during the hearing of a petition filed by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress’s party name and its flower-and-grass election symbol.
The Election Commission has frozen the Trinamool Congress’s name and symbol after the party broke into two factions
“Can the Election Commission delay matters, and then pass orders in the midst of elections knowing that I won’t have a remedy? To this, Sibal replied that they were not seeking a stay on the election. The Supreme Court then observed it could direct the ECI to conduct hearings everyday and give a decision – since the order to freeze the party name and symbol was an interim one. You have passed this order in the midst of elections. I can’t file a writ petition.
Citing the ECI’s decision to freeze the party’s name and symbol and allot two pairs of temporary ones to both the Trinamool factions, Sibal said the matter was such that they cannot approach any court and instead, the court “adjudicate on the question of this law. The Supreme Court said it cannot intervene since the election process has already started. “We think the right order now can be for expeditious disposal and day-to-day hearing,” Chief Justice Kant said. Sibal said all they needed were the party name and symbol restored to them fast. I can’t go to court,” Sibal said. “We have seen what delay does in Shiv Sena,” Justice Bagchi said.
