The petitioner, represented by advocate HS Gehlot, argued that a candidate with an existing symbol of a recognized political party gets an unfair advantage over a candidate with an unknown symbol. (Image: PTI/FILE)
A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said it was not impressed by the stand of petitioner Alka Ghalot.
- PTI
- Last Update:April 18, 2022, 19:43 IST
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The Delhi High Court on Monday dismissed a PIL seeking removal of symbol from ballot papers for municipal elections in the city. A bench headed by Acting Chief Justice Vipin Sanghi said it was not impressed by the stand of petitioner Alka Ghalot.
We are rejecting it. We are not impressed by your submission, the bench said, also comprising Justice Navin Chawla. The petitioner, who had earlier contested and lost the MCD elections, argued that the motive behind municipal elections is local self-government which is snatched away by the presence of election symbols of political parties on the ballot paper.
The petitioner, represented by advocate HS Gehlot, argued that a candidate with an existing symbol of a recognized political party gets an unfair advantage over a candidate with an unknown symbol. It was further argued that a candidate sponsored by a recognized political party would have the advantage of having a reserved symbol which violates the basic principle of equal opportunity.
The court asked the petitioner whether political parties were barred from contesting the local body elections and observed that if the contention of the petitioner is sound then it should be applied to all other elections also and not only to municipal elections. If he is not popular then he (candidate) will not be selected. The court said that independent candidates are elected very often.
The petitioner also submitted that the presence of election symbols on the ballot paper is in violation of the Constitution and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi Act as both of them do not make any reference to political parties in relation to municipal elections. State Election Commission’s counsel Sumeet Pushkaran insisted that the Supreme Court’s order was that symbols were important and relevant to elections and help illiterates to relate to the candidate of their choice.
He also said that neither the Election Commission of India nor any political party was made a party to the petition.
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