The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to state how long it will take to deliver a final ruling on the ownership dispute over the Trinamool Congress party name and its reserved symbol.
A bench presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant sought the timeframe from senior counsel DM Naidu, representing the poll panel, while clarifying that the inquiry was strictly limited to establishing a schedule for final adjudication. The top court is set to resume hearing the matter on Monday, September 28.
The proceedings arise from a writ petition filed on September 18 by former West Bengal Chief Minister and party founder Mamata Banerjee. The plea challenges an interim directive issued by the poll regulatory body that froze the name “All India Trinamool Congress” and the reserved “Flowers & Grass” emblem amid competing claims between rival camps.
Appearing for Banerjee, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal contended before the bench that allowing such interim measures during an election cycle establishes an impermissible legal precedent. Sibal argued that freezing party identities mid-poll deprives political entities of effective remedies and warned that the commission could replicate similar actions in future elections across other states if left unchecked.
Interim Allocations for Upcoming Polls
The legal conflict follows the poll panel’s September 17 order, which barred both competing groups from utilizing the original party name and election symbol for pending legislative by-elections. The commission instructed each faction to tender three alternative names and three free symbols until the substantive dispute is formally settled.
On September 18, the election body allotted temporary designations and symbols to both sides. The camp led by Mamata Banerjee was assigned the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” along with the “Football Player” symbol.
Concurrently, the rival faction headed by Ritabrata Banerjee was granted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and allocated the “Envelope” symbol. Both the Election Commission of India and Ritabrata Banerjee have been named as respondents in the petition before the apex court.
Statutory Review Ahead of By-Elections
The interim freeze was instituted ahead of assembly by-elections scheduled for October 6 in West Bengal, including contests in Nandigram and Rejinagar.
The poll authority noted that the provisional arrangement serves solely as an administrative mechanism for the immediate by-elections and does not constitute a final judgment on which faction holds legal rights to the original party apparatus. Substantive rights to the original title and symbol remain subject to separate adjudication under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
