Delhi High Court rejects Swaraj India’s request for common election symbol

Source:- india.com

New Delhi, April 3: The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected the plea of Swaraj India led by Yogendra Yadav for a common election symbol for the civic polls in Delhi. The Delhi High Court said that such order would cripple the election process. The High Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar said that awarding an election to the registered and unregistered political entitites require further hearing.

Listing the matter for July 19, the Delhi High Court said,”Issue/grant of a common election symbol would require and mandate comments/objections from different stakeholders. The process and award of a common symbol is not an easy and simple exercise, for others could have objection and reservation on allotment from the free symbols.

 The bench further said,”Independent candidates in nomination forms are required to specify three symbols which they have chosen in the order of preference. The last date of filing of nominations is April 3, 2017. In the given time-frame, any interim order/direction would virtually scuttle and cripple the election process set in motion…,” the bench said.

The Swaraj India had challenged the order of single bench of Delhi High Court which had rejected the its plea seeking a common symbol for the civic polls in Delhi.

In an earlier development, the single judge had on March 29 said since the plea was filed after the polling process was underway, it was very late in the day for the court to interfere. Swaraj India was floated in October last year by Yadav and advocate Prashant Bhushan, who were expelled from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after they questioned Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership.