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TMI Blog2012 (4) TMI 719X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , Adv., -on-record Mr. Naushad Ahmad Khan, Adv., Mr. V.Elanchezhiyan, Adv., Mr. Subuhi Khan, Adv., Mr. Aftab Ali Khan, Adv Mr. Pravin Satale, Adv., In WP 422/09 Mr. Rajiv Shankar Dvivedi, Adv., Mr. Ankur Mittal, Adv., Mr. Jaideep Gupta, Sr. Adv., Mr. Sanjay R.Hegde, Adv., Mr. Abhishek Malviya, Adv., Mr. K.R. Joshi, Adv., Mr. Anil Kumar Mishra, Adv., Mr. Ramesh Babu M.R., Adv., For The Respondent(s) Mr. Ashok Desai, Sr. Adv., Ms. Meenakshi Arora, Adv., Connected matters Mr. S.K. Mendiratta, Adv., Ms. Poli Kataki, Adv., Mr. Vijay Kumar, Adv., Mr. Vishwajit Singh, Adv., Mr. Ramesh N.Keswani, Adv., of 2009 Mr. Ram Lal Roy, Adv., M/S. Lawyer S Knit Co, Adv., Mr. Venkateswara Rao Anumolu, Adv., Mr. Jogy Scaria, Adv., M/s. Keswani Co. ALTAMAS KABIR, J. 1. The common challenge in these eleven Writ Petitions and three Special Leave Petitions is to the provisions of Paragraph 6A(i) (ii), Paragraph 6B(A)(ii), Paragraph 9(a) and (b), Paragraphs 10A, 11, 12(1)(c) and Paragraph 12(3)(a) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, as amended from time to time. However, on account of paucity of time in the light of the election process being set into moti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... candidates in the ensuing elections to the State Legislative Assembly. One of the States in question is the State of Tamil Nadu, in respect whereof Writ Petition (C) No.532 of 2008 has been filed by Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam, hereinafter referred to as DMDK , Anr. We have been informed that the date for notifying the election programme in the State of Tamil Nadu has been fixed as 16th April, 2011 and the filing of nomination papers for the election is said to be scheduled between 19th and 26th April, 2011. All other subsequent steps are to be taken thereafter. 5. Appearing in support of the Writ Petition, Mr. K.K. Venugopal, learned Senior Advocate, submitted that the Petitioner No.1 is a registered unrecognized political party and the Petitioner No.2 is a registered voter in the State of Tamil Nadu. It was submitted that the DMDK contested 232 out of 234 constituencies in the 2006 Assembly Elections in the State of Tamil Nadu, which were the first elections which the party had contested within 8 months of its formation, and, although, it was an unrecognized political party, all its candidates were allotted the Nagara symbol in 224 out of 232 constituencies. In resp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ted to different contesting candidates at an election in the same constituency. 8. Paragraph 5 of the aforesaid Order provides for the classification of symbols and divides symbols into two categories, namely, reserved and free . It indicates that a reserved symbol is a symbol which is reserved for a recognized political party for exclusive allotment to contesting candidates set up by that party, whereas a free symbol is a symbol other than a reserved symbol. At this point, it may also be indicated that the Election Symbols Order, 1968, underwent certain changes in 2000 and 2005. Prior to its amendment, Paragraph 6, as it stood when the Order was promulgated in 1968, inter alia , provides that for the classification of symbols, political parties were to be categorized either as recognized political parties or unrecognized political parties and that a political party would be listed as a recognized political party in a State, if and only if either of the conditions specified in Clause (A) or the conditions in Clause (B) were fulfilled by that party and not otherwise. Clause (A) makes it imperative that such a political party would have had to be engaged in political act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ognized party as a National Party and a State Party and Paragraph 6C deals with conditions for continued recognition as a National or State Party. The outcome of the Election Symbols Order, 1968, is that certain norms have been laid down in order to minimize the number of parties contesting an election since many persons forming themselves into a political party tend to take advantage of the other liberal provisions of the Order. 20. Mr. Venugopal urged that even prior to the Notification of 1st December, 2000, certain other amendments had been effected to the Election Symbols Order, 1968, in 1997 and 1999, whereby Paragraphs 10 and 10A were substituted. For instance, certain concessions are provided that if a political party, which is recognized as a State Party in some State or States, sets up a candidate at an election in a constituency in any other State or Union Territory in which it is not a recognized party, then such candidate may, to the exclusion of other candidates of the constituency, be allotted the symbol reserved for that party in that State or States, in which it is recognized as a State Party, notwithstanding that such symbol is not specified in the list of fre ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nugopal s submissions, Mr. Mukul Rohtagi, learned Senior Advocate, appearing for the Writ Petitioner, Kongunadu Munnetra Kazhagam, in Writ Petition (C) No.315 of 2009, contended that in the 2009 Parliamentary Elections the party had contested 12 out of 39 Parliamentary seats and Gas Cylinder as a symbol was allotted to all twelve candidates. In fact, the identity of candidates set up by the party came to be equated with the Gas Cylinder symbol and not as a free symbol, so much so that candidates who were provided with Gas Cylinder as an election symbol in other constituencies where the party had not put up any candidate, benefitted and had polled a large number of votes which they had never expected to get. 24. All the other learned counsel appearing for the other Writ Petitioners and Special Leave Petitioners, while adopting Mr. Venugopal s submissions, in one voice urged that the candidates to be put up by them as registered but unrecognised political parties may be provided with a common symbol in the constituencies in which they contest and such symbol may not be made available to other candidates as a free symbol. It was urged, as had been urged by Mr. Rohtagi, that a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent made earlier is to be continued it would be directly in violation of the said provisions. Such an arrangement cannot be made unless the operation of the impugned provision is stayed. At this stage we are not inclined to stay the impugned provision. 27. When the interim arrangements were made on 27th March, 2009, the registered unrecognized political parties before the Court were only three in number, whereas presently many others have joined the bandwagon. What we are required to consider at this stage is whether despite the above, any prejudice would be caused to any of the stakeholders in the election process, if such prayer was allowed. It would certainly be to the advantage of the registered unrecognized political parties if they were able to put up candidates on a common symbol. On the other hand, if all registered unrecognized political parties were to be provided with a common symbol, prima facie, it would render the provisions of the Election Symbols Order, 1968, completely unworkable and destroy the very object it seeks to achieve. 28. Having regard to the aforesaid two possibilities, we are not inclined to make any interim arrangement similar to that made on an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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