Delhi High Court Dismisses Janta Party’s Challenge to Election Commission’s Symbol Reservation Order

The Delhi High Court on Friday ruled against the Janta Party’s petition that sought to challenge the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to reserve certain electoral symbols exclusively for recognised registered political parties.

Presided over by Acting Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, the bench concluded that the issue had been decisively resolved in previous rulings by both the Supreme Court and the High Court. The justices reiterated that political parties cannot claim permanent rights to specific symbols, especially if their performance in elections does not meet the required standards. According to the court, “Symbols are not the exclusive property of any party and can be forfeited based on dismal performance.”

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The court’s decision came after hearing arguments from the petitioner’s counsel, who asserted that the Janta Party had previously been recognized and thus should retain the right to its traditional symbol—a plough on the shoulder of a farmer. The counsel argued that the Election Symbol Order was discriminatory, unfairly distinguishing between recognized and unrecognized parties and contended that losing recognition due to not securing 6 percent of valid votes should not result in the loss of a party’s symbol.

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However, Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing the Election Commission, pointed out that this matter had been previously settled by the Supreme Court in a similar case brought by Subramanian Swamy. Kumar’s argument underscored that the court had already established precedent, rendering the Janta Party’s current claims moot.

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