Apex court rejects plea on election symbols

New Delhi, April 18 (IANS) The Supreme Court Wednesday upheld the Election Commission's order setting criteria for the allocation of election symbols to the registered and recognised political parties.

Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice S.S. Nijaar, constituting a bench of the apex court, in their majority judgment rejected the plea of a number of registered but unrecognised political parties for allocation of permanent poll symbol.

These parties had challenged the validity of the commission's symbol order, by which, based on certain criteria, election symbols are allotted to recognise political parties.

Justice J. Chelameswar, in a separate judgment, held that the symbol order for the allocation of the election symbol was violative of Article 14, granting equality before law, and had no rational nexus to the objective to be achieved.

Under the Election Commission symbol order, any state level political party must have at least two elected members in the state assembly, one member in parliament or certain percentage of votes to attain the status of a "recognised" party and to get an election symbol.