EC told to consider plea to derecognise PMK
CHENNAI: Madras High Court has directed the Election Commission of India to consider a plea to derecognise the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), keeping in mind a ruling of the Supreme Court in the Indian National Congress vs Institute of Social Welfare and others, stipulating three exceptions to derecognise a political party.
The first bench of Chief Justice SK Kaul and Justice R Mahadevan gave the direction while closing a PIL from Varaki, who claimed himself as a journalist, on August 8.
Petitioner prayed for a direction to the ECI to derecognise the PMK for its alleged stand in respect of inter-caste marriages, more particularly the issue relating to Ilavarasan-Divya of Natham village in Dharmapuri district and the subsequent violent incidents, which shook the State.
When the matter came up, EC's counsel R Niranjan submitted that the EC does not have powers to revoke the recognition given to a political party, apart from the three exceptions stipulated by the Supreme Court in the Indian National Congress case.
The three exceptions are: 1) Where a political party has obtained registration by practising fraud or forgery. 2) Where it amends it nomenclature of association, rules and regulations abrogating therein conforming to the provisions of Sec. 29-A(5) of the Representation of People Act or intimating the EC that it has ceased to have faith in and allegiance to the Constitution or to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy or it would not uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India so as to comply with the provisions of Sec. 29-A(5) of the Act. 3) Any like ground where no enquiry is called for on the party of the Commission.
When the bench queried as to whether the ECI has contemplated to address the Law Commission of India and the Centre in respect of any of these issues, Niranjan replied that he has no instructions at present.
"At present, we would not like to observe anything further, especially keeping in mind that it is the own case of the petitioner that the ECI should act in the conspectus of the aforesaid parameters and not the Court. This is a call which the ECI would have to take and communicate its decision to the petitioner within a maximum period of three months, keeping in mind the limitation of its powers", the bench said and closed the PIL.