HC RESERVES ORDER ON SASIKALA
NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday reserved its order on an interim plea by V K Sasikala-t T V Dhinakaran group of AIADMK for using the ‘hat’ symbol in the upcoming R K Nagar constituency by-poll.
Justice Indermeet Kaur heard arguments on behalf of the Sasikala-dhinakaran group, the poll panel and the faction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam and said it will pass an order at 4pm on Monday.
The court also issued notice to the Election Commission of India, O Panneerselvam, Tamil Nadu CM E Palaniswami seeking their replies to Sasikala and Dhinakaran’s pleas challenging the poll panel’s November 23 order allotting the ‘two-leaves’ symbol to the Panneerselvampalaniswami faction.
The court sought the response of Madhusudhanan, AIADMK’S candidate for the R K Nagar by-poll and MLA Semmalai, who are also respondents in the pleas by Sasikala and Dhinakaran.
The main petition will be heard on February 12, the court said.
During the arguments, the poll panel, Palaniswami, Panneerselvam and others opposed grant of ‘hat’ symbol to Sasikala-dhinakaran group by the court, saying the Returning Officer (RO) alone has the power to do so.
They said if the SasikalaDhinakaran group do not get ‘hat’ symbol, then some other free symbol would be granted to them by the RO.
The court, however, did not appear to agree with the contentions, saying the RO being subordinate to the poll panel, he will not go against the EC’S November 23 order by which the grant of ‘hat’ symbol to Sasikala-dhinakaran group was set aside.
It expressed the view that if the ‘hat’ symbol was not granted to the Sasikala-dhinakaran group, then the other side may “win by default”.
“Elections have to be free and fair. You (Panneerselvampalaniswami) should not get a vote by default,” the court said.
The hat symbol was given to the Sasikala-dhinakaran group by the EC in March this year when it had frozen the use of the ‘two-leaves’ symbol to which the group led by Palaniswami and Panneerselvam had also laid claim.
The Palaniswami-panneerselvam faction had at the same time been granted the electric pole symbol.
However, on November 23 the poll panel ruled in favour of Palaniswami-panneerselvam faction by allotting the ‘twoleaves’ symbol to them for the upcoming by-poll which is to be held on December 21.
The Palaniswami-panneerselvam group and the poll panel argued that ‘hat’ was a free symbol and cannot be reserved for an individual or independent candidate.
EC told the court that after its November 23 order, Sasikala and Dhinakaran are not part of any group but are independent candidates.
The Sasikala-dhinakaran group, on the other hand, claimed that in March this year, they were allotted the ‘hat’ symbol by the EC and since then they have been campaigning under it. They said that not granting the ‘hat’ symbol would prejudice their chances in the by-poll as the people of R K Nagar constituency associate them with the ‘hat’.