Summary
While the challenge to the Election Commission’s decision recognizing one AIADMK faction remained pending, the rival faction could seek an interim name and common-symbol arrangement without surrendering its claim to be the original party. The Court entertained its application under liberty reserved when disposing of the earlier SLP and lifted the restraint on implementing the High Court’s interim order, subject to specified timelines. It did not finally determine which faction represented AIADMK or directly allot the pressure-cooker symbol.
Issues
- Whether the application was maintainable after disposal of the SLP with express liberty to return.
- Whether an interim common-name and symbol arrangement could be directed pending judicial review of the faction dispute.
Provisions considered
- Paragraph 18, Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968Its gap-filling and direction-making power informed the permissibility of an equitable interim arrangement while the faction dispute remained sub judice. (¶ 20–26)
- Directions (v)–(vii), Supreme Court order dated 28 March 2018The restraint on the High Court’s interim arrangement was accompanied by liberty to return on notification of an election; that reserved liberty supported the present application. (¶¶ 5, 8–11, 37–38)
Held
- The earlier SLP disposal did not adjudicate the merits of the High Court’s interim order and expressly permitted parties to return if an election was notified. Refusing to entertain the application merely because the SLP was disposed of would defeat that liberty in the peculiar circumstances. (¶ 8–11)
- The pending claim was by a faction asserting that it represented an existing recognized party, rather than an ordinary unregistered party seeking recognition. Requiring new registration before final resolution could prejudice that claim. An equitable interim arrangement could preserve a level playing field without displacing the currently recognized faction’s status. (¶¶ 13–16, 18–26, 33–34)
- The Election Commission was to process the application under the High Court’s interim directions, not automatically grant the preferred symbol. If the High Court did not dispose of the writ petition within four weeks, appropriate directions were due within the next two weeks. If an election press note or notification issued earlier, directions were due within one week of it and in any event before the nomination date, whichever was earlier. (¶ 37–38)
Result
Miscellaneous application disposed of with the conditional timelines for implementation of the High Court’s interim arrangement; restraint lifted in those terms. Main faction dispute remained for the High Court. No costs.