Delhi High Court issues notice to 26 political parties, Election Commission on use of acronym INDIA for alliance

The High Court of Delhi on Friday issued notice to 26 political parties and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain opposition parties from using the acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) for their alliance.

The order was passed by the Division Bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Narula on a petition filed by activist Girish Bharadwaj through Advocate Vaibhav Singh.

The petition, which made all opposition parties as respondents in the case, contended that these parties were using the name of INDIA for their selfish act, which may ‘adversely affect’ the peaceful, transparent and fair casting of votes during the upcoming general elections of 2024.

The plea further warned that this may expose the citizens to unwarranted violence and also affect the law and order of the country.

Bharadwaj pointed out that use of the name INDIA was prohibited under Sections 2 and 3 of The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950.

Mentioning the statements of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the petitioner argued that these leaders have presented the name of their alliance as the name of ‘our nation’. Bharadwaj alleged that the opposition parties, which were memes of INDIA, had tried to project that the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance and Prime Minister Narendra Modi were in conflict with their own nation.

As per the petition, a statement made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has created confusion in the minds of common people that the upcoming elections would be fought between an alliance (NDA) and the country (INDIA).

Bharadwaj apprised the High Court that he had sent a representation to the Election Commission, but no action was taken by EC, which forced him to take legal recourse.