'What Remains Further?': Calcutta HC Questions 'Connivance' Between Advocates of EC and Ritabrata Faction of TMC

New Delhi: While hearing the matter pertaining to the allotment of the election symbol of envelope to the Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC), the Calcutta high court on Monday (September 28) questioned the Election Commission (EC) whether there was any “connivance” between the poll body and the newly-formed outfit, reported Press Trust of India.

The Indian Secular Front (ISF) had earlier moved high court after the envelope symbol was allotted to the DTC – the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) – despite the fact that the symbol has earlier been used in past elections by the ISF.

During the hearing on Monday, Justice Krishna Rao observed that the conduct of advocates appearing for the parties appeared to reveal “what the connivance is” between them.

“If the EC has been guided by the private respondent, what remains further?” the court asked.

In response, the EC counsel said the private respondent’s lawyer had not told him anything.

The EC counsel further added that it was “not a correct observation” by the court that he was being dictated by a political party and that there was no reason for such an allegation.

“The authorities should be fair before the court,” observed Justice Rao.

When the EC counsel said he was not being prompted by the DTC’s counsel, Justice Rao said he would state what he had observed in court.

Justice Rao told the EC counsel that since he was appearing for a constitutional body, he should be ready with answers to all questions posed by the court and could not take anyone else’s assistance.

Justice Rao also questioned the ECI that why it did not consider the ISF’s application for the envelope symbol, which was before it on September 17.

The counsel for the EC submitted that allotment of symbols was within the poll body’s discretion and that it had acted according to law in allotting the ‘envelope’ symbol to the DTC and the ‘almirah’ symbol to the ISF.

On the other hand, the counsel for the DTC said that both factions of the TMC – the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress and the Democratic Trinamool Congress – had been recognised as parties by the EC.

He argued that the ISF did not have any inviolable right to a particular symbol.

At this juncture, ISF’s counsel Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya pointed out that the bypoll was a continuation of the 2026 election and questioned how the ‘envelope’ symbol could be taken away from the ISF during the by-election.

Bhattacharya submitted that the EC’s decision to reassign the ‘envelope’ symbol to another party was illegal and that the power had been exercised arbitrarily.

After the hearing in the matter was concluded on Monday, the court reserved its order.

SC sets a timeline of four months for EC to decide TMC symbol dispute

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Monday set a timeline of four months for the EC to decide the election symbol dispute in the TMC involving the DTC and the Mamata All India Trinamool Congress under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, reported LiveLaw.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana asked both the parties to file their affidavits/counter-affidavits within four weeks so that the pleadings should be completed within a month. Thereafter, the court said that the EC must decide the matter within three months, effectively, setting a timeline of four months for deciding the matter.

Appearing for the EC, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu told the court on Monday that symbol disputes are bound to take time, because the affidavits from the party workers will come in "lakhs".

At this point, Justice Bagchi pointed out that three months have already passed since the matter reached the poll body. He said that the ECI can make use of AI tools and decide the matter within three months.

Naidu added that if the court is setting any timeline, it should be from the date when the parties file their affidavits.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Kalyan Bandhopadhyay told the court that the Mamata Banerjee-side had filed their responses way back in July, wherein the other side was yet to file their counter-responses.

Senior Advocates Mukul Rohatgi and Neeraj Kishan Kaul appeared for the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction.

Earlier, the ECI had frozen the Trinamool Congress party’s name and iconic twin-flower election symbol.

It gave the name ‘Mamata All India Trinamool Congress’ to the Trinamool Congress’ founder Mamata Banerjee and the faction of her party that is still with her. The Mamata group was allowed the symbol of a footballer. The ECI gave the Ritabrata faction of the erstwhile TMC the name ‘Democratic Trinamool Congress’. It was allotted the symbol of an envelope for the upcoming bypolls in two assembly constituencies, to which the ISF had objected.

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