Delhi HC issues notice in plea to de-register parties having religious connotations

The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a plea seeking a direction to the Election Commission to de-register political parties with religious, caste, ethnic or linguistic connotations within three months..The plea by petitioner in person Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay also seeks to de-register such political parties which are using a flag similar to the national flag, if they fail to change it within three months..Notice to the Election Commission was issued by a Division Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice Anup J Bhambhani..The petitioner has argued that an appeal by any election candidate to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, national symbols, such as national flag or national emblem etc, is a corrupt practice under Section 123(3) of the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951..Presently, there are many political parties such as Hindu Sena, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, Indian Union Muslim League etc. with religious, caste, ethnic, linguistic connotations. In addition, there are political parties including Indian National Congress, which use a flag similar to the national flag, which is against the spirit of Section 123 of the RPA, 1951, the petition reads..Such a practice is thus in violation of the mandate of Section 123 (3), it has been contended..It is further stated that the powers of the Election Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution of India are wide-ranging and include the power to ensure smooth conduct of elections in a fair and free manner.. The matter will be heard next on July 17..Bar & Bench is available on WhatsApp. For real-time updates on stories, click here to subscribe to our WhatsApp.