Supreme Court junks PIL seeking direction to freeze election symbol resembling human body parts

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the Election Commission (EC) to remove, freeze and cancel election symbols which resemble "parts of the human body".

Refusing to entertain the plea, a bench, headed over by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud, remarked that it cannot issue a writ of mandamus to the poll body as sought in the PIL.

The petition said that the PIL litigant lodged several complaints against the symbols, which resemble or are identical to parts of the human body for ensuring free and fair elections in India, but the EC has not taken any steps in the matter.

It added that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) clearly describes the cessation of the election campaign before 48 hours of the polling and Section 130 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, bans the exhibition of the election symbol within 100 metres of the periphery on polling day and therefore, some symbols which resemble or are identical with the human body parts cannot be hidden and can be misused by exhibition of such human body parts.

The PIL filed through advocate Omprakash Parihar calls upon the apex court to decide whether EC can allot the symbol of human body parts as an election symbol to any party and whether such allotment of such symbols is in violation of Article 324 of the Constitution of India, read with section 29A and Section 130 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.