Adoption Of Symbols By State Election Commission In Municipal Elections Is Reasonable And Not Arbitrary: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court observed that the adoption of symbols by the SEC (State Election Commission) in the Municipal Elections is reasonable and not arbitrary.
The Court observed thus in a writ petition seeking to declare Rule 15 and Rule 24 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Election of Councillors) Rules, 2012 as ultra vires the Constitution.
A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora held, “Even in the absence of the impugned Rule 15, the power of SEC to grant recognition to political parties, like Election Commission of India can be traced to its powers under Article 243ZA of the Constitution and Section 7 of the DMC Act. … Therefore, the adoption of the Symbols by the SEC in the Municipal Elections is reasonable and not arbitrary.”
Advocate Hargyan Singh represented the petitioner while ASC Sameer Vashisht represented the respondent.
In this case, the petition was filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, seeking the direction of the Court to declare Rule 15 and Rule 24 (Impugned Rules) of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (Election of Councillors) Rules, 2012 (‘Rules of 2012’) as ultra vires the Constitution and consequently strike off Part-I of the Nomination Paper contained in Form No. 2 of the Rules of 2012. The petitioner also sought a direction to the State Election Commission of Delhi (‘SEC’) to stop putting the reserved symbols of political parties on the list of contesting candidates.
He further sought a direction to the SEC to conduct election of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (‘MCD’) without the reserved symbols, which allegedly violates Fundamental Rights of the petitioner enshrined under Article 14 of the Constitution. As per record, the petitioner had contested the General Election to MCD-2022 from Ward No. 150, Green Park as an independent candidate and lost the said election.
The High Court in view of the above prayers noted, “The substratum of challenge in the present writ petition is to the presence of reserved symbols of political parties on the list of contesting candidates, in the election of the MCD. The National and State Parties as well as their reserved symbols have been recognised under the impugned Rules. The Petitioner has challenged the vires of the impugned Rules on the ground that the presence of the reserved symbol of political parties upsets the level playing field for the independent candidate, such as the Petitioner herein.”
The Court further said that the plea of violation of Article 14 of Constitution does not survive for consideration. It also took note of the fact that the SEC in the Symbol Order 2022 has granted recognition to the National and State Parties already recognized by the Election Commission of India and provided for allotment of Symbols to contesting candidates.
“We are of the considered opinion that the Symbol Order 2022 issued by the SEC in exercise of its powers under Article 243ZA of the Constitution, Section 7 of the DMC Act and Rule 15 of the Rules of 2012 is not ultra vires”, it added.
Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the petition.
Cause Title- Lokesh Kumar v. Govt of NCT of Delhi and Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:DHC:2925-DB)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocates Hargyan Singh Gahlot and Manoj Kumar Badriwal.
Respondent: ASC Sameer Vashisht, Advocates Aman Singh, Harshita Nathrani, SPC Neeraj, Government Pleader Vedansh Anand, Advocates Rudra Paliwal, Mahesh Kumar Rathore, and Sanjay Pal.
