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Symbol row: High Court asks officials to consider provisions of law

Correspondent

It was disposing of writ petition filed by Communist Party of India

CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court, while refusing to interfere in the ongoing panchayat election process in the State, has suggested that the election officers shall take into consideration the provisions of law as well as the notifications issued by the State Election Commission (SEC) while allotting symbols to various political parties.

A Division Bench of the court, comprising Justice I.M. Quddusi and Justice A.K. Parichha, on Tuesday gave this ruling while disposing a writ petition filed by the Communist Party of India (CPI).

The party's State secretary Nityananda Pradhan moved the court seeking a direction to the SEC to allow the party to use the symbol allotted to it as a national political party for the coming panchayat elections.

The SEC had earlier refused to allow the CPI and some other major political parties of the State to use their national symbols as these parties had not submitted Form No. 17 of the Zilla Parishad Rules.

Challenging the SEC stand, the petitioner told the court that the candidates sponsored by the national parties or State parties in Form No. 18 should be allotted symbols reserved by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for such political party. "Even this provision is incorporated in the SEC notification No. 3995/SEC dated 1.11.2006 regarding allotment of symbols of zilla parishad election," the petition pointed out.

Observing that election officers should not undertake any act by which the election process would be disturbed, the court said:

"We are of the opinion that while considering the allotment of symbol the provision of law as well as the notification issued by the SEC, Orissa, including the notification (dated 1.11.2006) shall be taken into consideration."

Nominations rejected

Special Correspondent in Bhubaneswar writes: Nomination papers of as many as 115 persons who had aspired to contest for the posts of Zilla Parishad members have been rejected during scrutiny, according to the State Election Commission.

Over 4,000 persons filed their nomination papers for the 854 Zilla Parishad Members when time ended for the filing of the nomination for the forthcoming panchayat polls on January 15.

Election Commission officials said that after the scrutiny process ended on Tuesday, the process for withdrawal of nomination papers had started from Wednesday.

It will continue till January 19.

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