Madras High Court asks EC to consider MDMK’s plea to allot ‘top’ symbol

Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy want the EC to take a decision on the plea by 9 a.m. on Wednesday and report the outcome to the court by afternoon

Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had sought the allotment of the ‘top’ symbol to it for contesting in the Tiruchi parliamentary constituency this year. | Photo Credit: File Photo

The Madras High Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission of India (EC) to consider a representation made by Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) for allotment of the ‘top’ symbol to it for contesting in the Tiruchi parliamentary constituency this year.

Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy wanted the EC to take a decision on the plea made under para 18(c) read with para 12(3) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 by 9 a.m. on Wednesday and report the outcome to the court by afternoon.

The orders were passed after senior counsel M. Ajmal Khan, representing the MDMK, brought it to the notice of the court that para 18(c) empowers the EC to issue directions and instructions in relation to any matter with respect to reservation and allotment of symbols and recognition of parties.

The party had earlier given a representation under para 10B which provides for giving certain concessions to candidates set up by registered and unrecognised parties which had lost their recognition more than six years ago. In the case of MDMK, it had lost its recognition in 2010.

However, EC counsel Niranjan Rajagopalan told the court that the request under para 10B was related to allotment of a common symbol to a party which had lost its recognition and that the question of allotment of such common symbol would arise only if the party contests in more than one seat.

The present petitioner before the court wanted to contest in just one — Tiruchi Lok Sabha constituency alone — during the general election this year and hence its plea could not be considered under para 10B. Further, the ‘top’ symbol now remained under erstwhile reserved symbol category and not under free symbols, he said.

Mr. Khan, in turn, replied that the top symbol can be shifted to the free symbols category and allotted to MDMK. After hearing both sides, the judges urged the EC to consider the petitioner party’s plea under para 18(c) and revert back to the court by Wednesday.