The Delhi High Court on Tuesday scheduled the AIADMK symbol case for further adjudication on March 14. A bench of Justice Sachin Dutta renotified the matter after hearing the arguments submitted by the counsels.
Appearing for one of the factions, Advocate Kartik Venu emphasized on the existence of two rival factions within the AIADMK, each advocating for a different leader, leading to internal discord.
Nonetheless, the Election Commission of India represented through its standing counsel Advocate Ankit Agarwal along with Advocate Ashish Shukla countered the argument by stating that the petitioner’s request is solely focused on the two leaves symbol issue. The counsel stressed that no formal representation regarding the two leaves symbol was submitted.
Furthermore, it was also pointed out that the petitioner, while claiming to be a member of the party, lacks the legal standing as a leader to assert representation. It was asserted that the petitioner would be required to demonstrate legislative majority to claim representation on behalf of the party, only then could they legitimately pursue the symbol reserved for the party.
Additionally, the counsel also clarified that in such cases, the Election Commission would issue notices to all concerned factions for appropriate action under Paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order, 1968.
The matter over the AIADMK symbol arose internally following the passing of party leader Jayalalithaa in 2016, resulting in the emergence of two factions, led by Panneerselvam and Palaniswamy on one side and Sasikala on the other side, each asserting ownership of the party symbol.
Previous year, the high court ordered the Election Commission to decide on representation from the party seeking updates to its amended bylaws on the ECI’s website. Several legal battles have revolved around issues of party democracy and legislative majority.
The case will now be revisited on March 14 for further proceedings.