NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has said that political parties recognized by the State Election Commission (SEC) are not barred by the Constitution from participating in municipal polls. The court deemed the allocation of poll symbols by the SEC for municipal elections reasonable and not arbitrary.
The court’s ruling came while dismissing a petition that sought to halt the practice of assigning reserved symbols to political parties in the list of contesting candidates. The petitioner argued that this “violated their fundamental rights under the Article 14 (equality before law).
Additionally, the plea urged the SEC to conduct elections for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) without the use of reserved symbols.
“In light of the law laid down by the Supreme Court, the recognition granted by the SEC to the parties to contest municipal elections is within its jurisdiction and not ultra vires. There is no bar... on political parties from contesting municipal elections,” the court said.
A bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora said that people are the backbone of the Indian democracy, and they choose their representative by way of direct elections.
“When the first general election of India was held, a vast majority of electors consisted of people who were illiterate and could not read the names of candidates. Therefore, after deliberations and after weighing different options, a system of use of election symbols for the contesting candidates was put in place to help the electors exercise their franchise in favour of the candidate of their choice,” the bench said.
Genesis of party symbols
During the hearing, the court observed that when the first general election of India was held, a vast majority of electors were illiterate and could not even read the names of the contesting candidates. Therefore, after deliberations, a system of use of election symbols for the aspiring candidates was put in place to help the electors exercise their franchise, the bench said.