The Madras High Court on Friday directed a petitioner challenging the allotment of the lotus flower symbol to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to deposit ₹20,000 to prove his bona fide in the matter..A Bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy directed T Ramesh, the founder of the Tamil Nadu-based Ahimsa Socialist Party, to deposit such amount by December 18..The Bench also cautioned that if it found that Ramesh’s counsel was arguing on a matter that was “already settled” then the deposited amount will be forfeited..In his plea, Ramesh claimed that since the lotus flower is India’s “national flower,” its symbol cannot be allotted to any political party, and that such allotment was “a disgrace to national integrity.”On Friday, the petitioner argued that the lotus symbol was a religious one as well as a national symbol. Therefore, in allotting it to the BJP, the Election Commission of India had acted in breach of its own Rules..When the Chief Justice asked Ramesh how was he aggrieved by the allotment of such symbol to the BJP, he said that the other parties had been discriminated against, and that “gross injustice was being meted out” to them.At this, the Chief Justice said that the Court will “test” the petitioner’s bona fide.“To prove your bonafide, deposit 20,000 by December 18. Then we will hear you. And if the Court finds out that this issue has already been settled and you are arguing a settled matter, then that amount will be forfeited,” the Court said while adjourning the hearing to December 18.
The Madras High Court on Friday directed a petitioner challenging the allotment of the lotus flower symbol to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to deposit ₹20,000 to prove his bona fide in the matter..A Bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy directed T Ramesh, the founder of the Tamil Nadu-based Ahimsa Socialist Party, to deposit such amount by December 18..The Bench also cautioned that if it found that Ramesh’s counsel was arguing on a matter that was “already settled” then the deposited amount will be forfeited..In his plea, Ramesh claimed that since the lotus flower is India’s “national flower,” its symbol cannot be allotted to any political party, and that such allotment was “a disgrace to national integrity.”On Friday, the petitioner argued that the lotus symbol was a religious one as well as a national symbol. Therefore, in allotting it to the BJP, the Election Commission of India had acted in breach of its own Rules..When the Chief Justice asked Ramesh how was he aggrieved by the allotment of such symbol to the BJP, he said that the other parties had been discriminated against, and that “gross injustice was being meted out” to them.At this, the Chief Justice said that the Court will “test” the petitioner’s bona fide.“To prove your bonafide, deposit 20,000 by December 18. Then we will hear you. And if the Court finds out that this issue has already been settled and you are arguing a settled matter, then that amount will be forfeited,” the Court said while adjourning the hearing to December 18.