Delhi High Court dismisses Samata Party's plea challenging EC decision to allot flaming torch symbol to Uddhav Thackeray faction

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by Samata Party challenging the decision of the Election Commission to allot the symbol of 'mashal' (flaming torch) to Uddhav Thackeray led Shiv Sena faction - 'Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) party'. .The High Court said that Samata Party failed to prove any demonstrable right over the symbol in question since it lost its status as a 'recognised party' in the year 2004.Samata Party was initially formed in 1994 by former defence and railway minister George Fernandes and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. It is now led by Uday Mandal. The party was an offshoot of the Janata Dal and it largely merged with Janata Dal (United) in 2003. However, some of the leaders continued with the Samata Party name and symbol. It was finally derecognised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in 2004 and lost the symbol. .The flaming torch symbol was assigned to Thackeray's faction by the Election Commission earlier this month. His party will be contesting the Andheri East by-elections on the same symbol. .In his order, single-judge Justice Sanjeev Narula held that the petitioner (Samata Party) failed to prove any demonstrable right over the symbol in question since it lost its status of a recognised party in the year 2004. The Court noted that if the party had any right over the symbol, it would have also lapsed after expiry of six years as per Section 10(A) of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order. "In such circumstances, the petitioner does not have any right over the symbol in question," the Court said. .The judge added that even if the party contested elections on the same symbol in 2014, it does not give it any semblance of vested right in the symbol."In absence of any right demonstrable before this court, the petitioner cannot seek the mandamus for quashing the impugned (ECI) communication," the Court said in its order.Justice Narula also rejected Samata Party's argument that a notification ought to have been issued by the ECI stating that flaming torch is a free symbol..Samata Party had challenged the allotment of symbol arguing that it originally belonged to them. They had also filed a complaint to the ECI. .In their petition, they had argued that even though the party was derecognised in 2004, the symbol was allotted to the party for the general elections held in 2014.The party did contest the elections in 2019 and 2020 but on some other symbols. It failed to win any seats in 2009, 2014, 2019 and any other elections since then.