Madras High Court Dismisses Plea Challenging Allotment Of Lotus Symbol To Bharatiya Janata Party

The bench of Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice Bharatha Chakravarthy dismissed the plea and directed Ramesh to deposit Rs. 10,000, out of the 20,000 he had deposited as a pre-condition for proving bonafide, to the Tamil Nadu Legal Service Authority.

Ramesh submitted that the lotus being the national flower represented the entire Nation and thus allotting the lotus symbol to a political party was unjust. He also submitted that allotting a lotus symbol to a particular party was a disgrace to the national integrity. Ramesh had also argued that lotus was considered auspicious and sacred and played a central role in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism.

Ramesh also submitted that allotting the lotus symbol to the BJP was a violation of Sections 3 and 4 of the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act 2005 and Section 123 of the Representation of People Act 1951 which prohibited the use of religious symbols to seek votes.

Ramesh had further submitted that a free and fair election was based on equality and thus if one party was discriminated against another party, it would cause gross injustice and would also be against Article 14 of the Constitution.

Thus, Ramesh claimed that to avoid any discrimination, the lotus symbol allotted to the BJP had to be canceled and that the symbol should not be allotted to any political party – recognized/registered and independent.

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Mad) 123

Case Title: Gandhiyawati T Ramesh v The Chief Election Commissioner

Case No: WP 31661 of 2023