‘Intention is Only to Stop Hand Symbol’: SC Dismisses PIL Against Use of Body Parts as Political Symbols

The Supreme Court dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) petition on Monday that sought directions for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to restrain the use of body parts as political party symbols.

A bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud along with Justices JB Pardiwala and PS Narasimha observed that the intention behind the plea appeared to be to target the hand symbol of the Indian National Congress (INC).

“What kind of plea is this? No eyes, no body parts… well. Dismissed. The intention is only to stop the hand symbol,” the bench remarked.

According to the petitioner, who had filed several complaints about party symbols resembling or identical to human body parts to ensure free and fair elections, the Court action was taken after the Election Commission did not address these complaints.

The plea, filed through advocate Omprakash Parihar, asked the Supreme Court to determine whether the ECI can allot human body parts as symbols and whether such allotment violates Article 324 of the Constitution of India, the Representation of the People Act, the General Clauses Act, and the Conduct of Election Rules.

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