Plea in Delhi HC against EC order allotting poll symbol to AIADMK

Sidelined AIADMK leaders Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran today moved the Delhi High Court against the Election Commission’s decision recognising the unified AIADMK under Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami as the real party, allowing it to use the ‘two leaves’ poll symbol.

The plea for urgent hearing of the matter was mentioned before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar and sought quashing of the November 23 order of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Senior advocate Kirti Uppal, appearing for Sasikala and Dhinakaran, said the matter required urgent hearing as the poll panel’s order was bad in law and needed to be set aside.

Agreeing to the contention of the senior advocate, the bench listed the matter for hearing tomorrow.

The issue has been lingering since April in the aftermath of the announcement of by-poll to RK Nagar Assembly constituency here following the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in December last year.

The by-poll to Radha Krishnan Nagar Assembly constituency will be held on December 21.

The EC had on November 23 allotted the ‘two leaves’ symbol to the unified AIADMK led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam, dealing a blow to the Sasikala faction.

Unfair hearing

“The group led by E Madhusudhanan and others is hereby recognised...as the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which is a recognised state party in the state of Tamil Nadu and in the Union territory of Puducherry, for whom the symbol ‘two leaves’ is reserved in the said state and Union territory,” the EC had said.

The plea also sought direction for initiating appropriate proceedings against Madhusudhanan, AIADMK’s candidate for the R K Nagar bypoll, Palaniswami, Panneerselvam and MLA Semmalai for their acts.

It also sought to call for records and files relating to their dispute over the symbol.

Uppal, who was present along with advocate Amit Anand Tiwari, told the court that the EC has not only given a “perverse finding but has also committed serious illegalities while arriving at the decision”.

“The decision making process of the ECI is contrary to the settled legal principles. The EC has treated fabricated and untested material as genuine which has resulted in the hearing being unfair and consequently contrary to the principle of natural justice and therefore the proceedings and the order are void,” the plea submitted.

The order of the Commission came as a setback to deposed party leader Sasikala, who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a Bengaluru jail in a disproportionate assets case, and her nephew Dhinakaran.

Factions and mergers

Earlier, rival factions led by Sasikala and Panneerselvam had staked claim over the symbol. Palaniswami was then in the Sasikala camp. In an interim order in March this year, the EC had barred the two factions from using the party’s name or its two leaves symbol in the bypoll.

Later, a large number of legislators led by Palaniswami revolted against Sasikala and announced the merger of the two factions.

The EPS–OPS camp then submitted affidavits before the EC staking claim over the party name and symbol, which was contested by the Sasikala–Dhinakaran camp.

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