Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain Rashtriya Hindu Swabhiman Party's Plea Against ECI Refusing Registration
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition filed by Rashtriya Hindu Swabhiman Party challenging the refusal of the Election Commission of India to register it as a political party.The petitioner's counsel argued that the ECI has taken a "contradictory stand" as it has stated in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court that it has no power to refuse registration of...
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a petition filed by Rashtriya Hindu Swabhiman Party challenging the refusal of the Election Commission of India to register it as a political party.
The petitioner's counsel argued that the ECI has taken a "contradictory stand" as it has stated in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court that it has no power to refuse registration of parties with religious names.
"The Election Commission of India is taking a contradictory stand. It cannot arbitrarily say that the name of the party cannot be registered for having religious connotation", the counsel argued. The bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala interrupted the advocate to say that the Election Commission of India is not doing it arbitrarily as there is a provision which allows the body to examine the issues.
The counsel for the petitioner requested the Court to tag the present petition along with the PIL filed by Wazim Rizvi to bar political parties with religious names (in which the ECI has filed the above said affidavit). However, the bench refused, following which the petitioner sought to withdraw the petition.
Case : Rashtriya Hindu Swabhiman Party vs Election Commission of India - Diary No. 31240/2022