Dispute over allotment of the 'Tree' election symbol between the Socialist Party formed by merger of the PSP and SSP and a group claiming to be the reborn SSP. The Supreme Court held paragraph 16 of the Symbols Order applied, binding component units, and dismissed the appeal.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
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265 f
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I I l
RAMASHANKAR KAUSHIK AND AJ.'lOTHER . v. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND ANOTHER Nopember 14, 1973
[P. ] AGAN.MOHAN. R EOIJY AND s. N. D W!VEDI, JJ.]
.8 Election Symbols (Resen·ation and Allotmem) Order 1968 p<Uas 15, 16
• nd IS-Scope oj. ' '
The PSP nnd SSP were national parties with the election symbols 'H ut' and
1'ree', mpccttvel~. In May, 197 1 there . w~ a. merger of the two parti~ and
lhe 'Uwted Party was known a.s t he Soctahst Party. The Ei<ction Commission
.. ~ informed tbout the merge. md the Chte( Election Commissioner, in Nov-
ember, 1971, held tht the Soetah.st Party w:u a National Party for the purposes
of the Election 1>'ymbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968 and that the
symbol 'Tree' sould be exc)usivdy r!'Scrwd a!"d allotted to it. Thereafter, the
•pJ?<IIant d btS group .dectded to dtssolve thiS unity and they rcque.t.cd the
Chief Elccuon CommtSSJOncr to hold thnt tl1er was a rttbinlt of the Socialist
Party to be called the SSP and tbut the 'Tree' symbol may be allotted to the
uborn SSP. The Socialist Party opposed this roque!. The Chic( Election
Commissioner, nftcr considering· the matter, held that the appellant's party now
caWng itself SSP could not be the old SSP but was a new party, and th.•t the
"'"' SSP could not claim t~ 'Tree' S)'mbol for itself. In puuance of the
D findings, he issued a notilic;uion, under parnaph 17 of 1968-0rdcr, mentioning
llle Socialist !'arty a.s a N ational P arty with "Tree' a.s its symbol.
In apptal to this is Court it W:IS contended, ( I) that the case was case was coven:J by
J>M'JI:I"Ph IS of tlte 1968-0rdcr which 968-0rdcr which cr which which dcnls with a. case ase where rival sect1ons rival sect1ons of
a rc:cogniscd political party cbim bim to be that {!Urty; (2) the ea.se fell ll within the
>rope of rr. rr. S and 10 of the the Conduct uct of Elocuon Elocuon Rules, 1961, and rar.graph 1& 1&
ol the 196&-0rder, r, nnd (l} .._. the Chief Election ction n Commissioner did oot bold old
any inquiry reg-Jrding the ;illegian ce of the majority o( memben, memben, bis order was
E •oid. id.
Dismissing the appeal to this Court,
HELD : (I) P aragraph IS of of the he Election ection n Symbols ( Rervatlon and Rervatlon and ervatlon and ervatlon and atlon and n and and Allot-
Jnent) Order. 1968, i' not ullracted to the facts cts of the he prcsnt case. case. [2750]
. A new politic:.) politic:.) party is formed ormed med by the fo/1111111 ro ~~~/rr of o ~~~/rr of ~~~/rr of of at lc:\St ooe ~.og· .og·
rued rolittcal party nnd another political pa ':fY· litical pa ':fY· ':fY· Tho J:!Cwly ly formed rmed ed pohucal
In apptal to this is Court it W:IS contended, ( I) that the case was case was coven:J by
J>M'JI:I"Ph IS of tlte 1968-0rdcr which 968-0rdcr which cr which which dcnls with a. case ase where rival sect1ons rival sect1ons of
a rc:cogniscd political party cbim bim to be that {!Urty; (2) the ea.se fell ll within the
>rope of rr. rr. S and 10 of the the Conduct uct of Elocuon Elocuon Rules, 1961, and rar.graph 1& 1&
ol the 196&-0rder, r, nnd (l} .._. the Chief Election ction n Commissioner did oot bold old
any inquiry reg-Jrding the ;illegian ce of the majority o( memben, memben, bis order was
E •oid. id.
Dismissing the appeal to this Court,
HELD : (I) P aragraph IS of of the he Election ection n Symbols ( Rervatlon and Rervatlon and ervatlon and ervatlon and atlon and n and and Allot-
Jnent) Order. 1968, i' not ullracted to the facts cts of the he prcsnt case. case. [2750]
. A new politic:.) politic:.) party is formed ormed med by the fo/1111111 ro ~~~/rr of o ~~~/rr of ~~~/rr of of at lc:\St ooe .og· .og·
rued rolittcal party nnd another political pa ':fY· litical pa ':fY· ':fY· Tho J:!Cwly ly formed rmed ed pohucal
. . F P>rty may npply for recognition to the Ekct10n Comnu"'!o'! under Parngr:ph
16 of lbe Order. After due hearing, tlte E lectlun Comouss10n mny recogniSe
the newly fnrrncd political party either as n National Party .o a.s !1 Sf:atc. Party
tnd nuy allot a symbol to it. The ddsion of tbo Coolmt!<SIOD IS bmJmg on
lhe D<YfiY fonntd rolitical party nnJ all rite co!"pon.-11!·' . units thrto/. 'fhe
"<Pr"'"on "joining together" in tho paragr;ph .. used 10 •LS brood meantn.
Thetc i• nothing in the con(eKt to rc>trict its meanin.g I'? n case of merg r of
•o or more rolitical portk"' und their resultant exuncuon on the formation ?f
c lhtrror . a lltw politic;,! •how• th;t party. it will The nlso u enof tbrace the eu pca<e of n:ssion two wall or the more comp?ent pohtteal partt' un.•ts
• &teeinll to form or federating into n new political p;trty while n:t.unin.s th<Jr
''•te identui. The upre,<ion 'joini.ng t l'cether' :t!<O ind•tJe. a th•:J tv
1 ·\e "·.hre '"'O or m oro political parttC'J, o(t.cr do:d.t!tng to dest.roy thetr sep.l-
c iolcnltu. bave broul\hl into cxi.>tcnce a new pohttcal party, even though. the
r OCN Of utin(.1ion wa~ not forma(Jy comph:tcd or Wa• invnliJ tln<l indlelt'C.
Po 'Uch ~ t>\e. they retain their ,cpa rale iJentllic• and will be deemcJ to 1-c ,...,m-
' 11 tJ;"'" 1 •ltr nl lilt new partv Tn the oeconJ anJ thirJ tYT'C\ or c:t~~ aho tvhen
~~~lornmin lon bas gh•en rcognitlon to the new formed politic:!! partv :, t!
bir:t"•l Porty or a State Party 0 n,J has alloll«l o Aymhol to It, h" OniD-r 50)
'"I on them since they ore compon"'r units of the new p:trty. (274 -
~Ire Y the rc~&niP•N:nt -.cd. ca•e. ~ the case oppcllnt't set up by group the nppendid not ant's claim croup the waSocial• 11 a to::r~
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
266
[ 1974 J 2 s.c.R.
Socialist Party had been dissolved and that a new Socialist party was r~born. Admittedly there are important differences between the reborn SSP and the Socialist Party recognised by the Chief ElectiOn Commass1oner. Their ftags, their constitutions aod their membership are all different. f275D·Fl
Sadlq A.lt v. Election Commission of ld11ia, [1972] 2 S.C.R. 318, referred to.
(2) (a) Rule 5 of the Conduct of Election Rules, deals with the case where the l!.lection Commission specifies the symbols that may be chosen by candid11tes in parliamentary and as!embly constituencies. Rule 10(4) will apply only in B 11. case where the RetUrning Officer is considering the cho1ce of a symbol ex· pressed by a contestinr candidate in his nomination paper. These rules will not apply to the present case. Further, the provisions of paragraph 16 of the Order wall prevail over rr. 5 and 10, beOUISC, they are expressly subject to any general or special directions or restriction! issued by the Election Commlssion. The Order· had been made by the Election Commission in exercise · ·of its powers under Art. 324 of the Constitution read with rr. 5 ond 10 of the· Conduct of Election Rules. [271H: 276C-D} c (b) Paragraph 18(b) of the Order provides that the Commission may issue instructions and directions for the removal of any difficulty which may arise in relation to the lmplementatJon of the provisions of the Order. In the preset eliSe, no difficulty could arise ln regard to the implementation of paragraph Hi · of the Order. Assuming that the merger of the SSP in the Socialist Paty was not a valid and accomplished fact on the date when the symbol 'Tree' was allotted to the Socialist Party and that the old SSP had been enjoying a ceaseless existence, even then, the SSP Ia bound by the decision of the Chief Election D Commissioner under paraeraph· ~6(2), because, it would be regarded as a com· ponent unit of the Socialist PartY· f27SF·Hl ', (3) It is not necessary on th'is view to decide whether the. SSP had mer$ed in the Socialist Party and loet Its separate Identity and whether the associatton of the two parties could be dissolvea by a majority. [276A]
CIVIL APPELLATE ]URISDICTIO~ : Civil Appeal No. 630 of 1973.
Appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment. and Order dated the 14th March, 1973 of the Chief E!wion Commissioner of India, New Delhi. r.:g:-~rding Symbol of the Samyukt Socialist Party.
E
D. V. Patel•, J. P. Goyal, Pra11ab Chatterjee and R. A. Gupta, for the appellants.
B. Sen and S. P. Nayar, for respondent No. I.
F
S. C. Malik, S. K. Mehta, Santo/.:h Singh, K. R. Nagaraja, M. Qamaruddin and Vinod Dhawan, for respondent No. 2.
The Jud~ment of the Court was delivered by
DWIVEDI, J. Before Independence the Congress Socialist Party functioned as a group inside the Indian National Congress. After G Independence it had to quit the Congress, a1id. became knowu as the Sncialist F~1.rty. On the eve of the general election in 1952 another group of pei·wns came out of the Congress. They formed ~~ new p<~tty caUecl the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party. The Socialist Party and the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party particioated in the first general election. 'Tree1 was the symbol of the Socialist Party; 'Hut' of the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party. Some time in 1953 the two parties merged H together and formed a new party called the Praja Socialist Party (here· inafter called the P.S.PJ. It was allotted the symbol of 'Hut'. This unity was not long lived. In 1956 a group of persons came out of the
| RAMASHANW_V._ELECTION | COMMISSION(Dwivedi,_/.) I |
267 |
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268 SUPREME COURT REPORTS
( 1974] 2 S.C.R·
the S.S,.P. and the P.S.P. formd a new party called the Socialist Party. A A Nat10nal Ad-hoc Committee of the Socialist Party was constituted. The National Ad-hoc _Committee held its first nieeting in the Constitution Club, New Delhi on August 9 and 10, 1971. 51 members of the Committee were present in the meeting. Seven special ·invitees also Karpori attended the meeting. Thakur and Sri Madhu TI1e Committee took several decisions. . Sri pandavate were elected unanimously .. _as Chauinan and General Secretary of the party. The Corilmittee ratl.- B fied the agreement arrived _at amongst the General Secretary of the .. erstwhile S.S.P.", the General Secretary of the. "erstwhile P.S.P." and -~ ' the Chairman of the "9ld I.S.P." regarding the representation of the !. old I.S-P., Socialist Party (U.P. ), Socialist Party (Bihar) and the I Socialist Party (West Bengal) in the National. Ad-hoc Committee of the Socialist Party. The Chairman and the General Secretary were authorised to take a decision in the matter of giving representation in· c the Committee to the I.S.P .. (Bihar) and other groups which decided to merge in the Party, The Committee also took a decision as regards the.Party flag. It decided that the flag of the party will hi~: "Red Band above. white band in the middle, Red bJ.nd below; Insignia of wheel and plough to be painted in red in the middle of the white band." D was postponed for consideration No final decision could be taken on in the election the next meeting. Certain <kci-Siymbol, and the issue ' sions were taken in regard to the formation of State Ad-hoc Committees and District· Committees of t~ Socialist Party. Decision was also / taken in regard to _ membership of the Socialist Party. The form of membership was also adopted. Sri Madhu Dandavatc, General Secrctary of the Socialist Party, despatched copies of the resolutions of the E National Ad-hoc Committee of the Socialist Party to the State and District units on August 14, 1971. On August 18, 1971 Sri George . Fernandes, General Secretary of the erstwhile S.S.P. sent a letter to the / Election . Commissioner. An identical letter proceeded simultaneously to the Election Commissioner from Sri Prem Bhasin, General Secretary of the ·erstwhile P.S.P. Both these letters state that the S.S.P. m1d the ) P.S.P. have "now merged .... to form the new Socialist Party." Sri F George Fernandes requested the Election Commissioner to allot the symbol "Tree" to the Socialist Party. Similarly, Sri Prem Bhasin requested· that the symbol "Hut" should b~ allotted to the Socialist Party. On August 23, 1971 Sri Surendra Mohan, Joint Secretary of the Socialist Party, sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner along with the two aforesaid letters as enclosures. His letter states that ''both these parties have now merged alongwith some others to create the G Socialist Party.'• The letter conclud~d by saying that ·until a request for reservation of symbol was made by the Socialist Party, the symbol 'Hut' and 'Tree' should not be allotted to any other party. It appears • that the National Ad-hoc Committee of the Socialist Party met in Lonavla on October 22, 23 and 24, 1971 and took a decision as re- f gards its election symboL It opted for the symbol 'Tree'. Accordingly, on November 5 1971 Sri Surendra Mohan sent another letter to the H Chief Election Commissioner for reservation of the symbol 'Tree' to the Socialist Party. Paragraph 1 of the letter states that the 'Tree' syz_nb_ol which was reserved for the S.S.P. should be reserved for the S.Oc1ahst
| RAM!tSIIANKAR_V.ELECTION COMMISSio"N(Dwivedi,_/.) 269 |
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| 4 | A B |
·Party. Paragraph 2tatesthat the'Hut'which was reserved forthe PSP.shouldbfroze~.Itshouldnotbeallotted toanyother party nor,includedth<::hstofsymbols. After considering various docu- ments and heanng someofthe leaders oftheerstwhile S.S.P. and P.S.P. asa}soa few personswhowere opposedtothemerger of various · P~~esand formatio!l oftheSocialist Party, the Chief Election Com- miSswner passedanorderonNovember15, 1971.Becametothe conlusionthattheSocialist Party was entitledtoberecognised as·a NatiOnal Party.Hehas also recorded this finding:"ln.thecircum~ |
| --4 ·'! |c D |
stances,theCommission willnotbeunjustifiedincoming to the· con- clui?nthattheP.S.P.orthe S.S.P. doesnolonger subsist as a separate pohttcal partyatertheformation oftheSocialist Partybytheamal"a~ naonofthesetwoparties_andsome other groups." As regards the dtss1dents who opposedSnSurendra Mohan's request,hesaid"In anv case the existence of a few dissident membersintheP .S.P.orthe S.S.P. cannotberegardedasaground forthecontinued existenceofthe P.S.P. and S.S.P. as separate National Political Parties." Onthese findingshedecidedthat"thenewly formed Socialist Party formedby themergerofS.S.P., aNatic;:malParty, P.S.P., another National Party, andother political parties, suchastheIndian Socialist Party,is a National Party forthepurposesoftheElection Symbols (Reservation andAllotment) Order,1968(hereinaftertobe:referred astheOrder), ·andthatsymbol'Tree'shallbe1;eserved exclusively for that partyand beallottedtoit. This narrative bringstoclose the first chapter ofthe story. We shall now passontothesecond chapterotthe story. SomewhereinthemiddleofApril, 1972 Sri Ramashankar Kaushik declaredina Press ConferencethatSri Maniram Bagri was. elected astheGeneral SecretaryoftheSocialist ·;partyinplace of SriMadhu . Dandavate. · This declaration was questioned by othersintheSocialist Partyandprovedtobea harbingeroffissure intheSocialist Party.On May13,and14, 1972, certain persons calling themselvesasdelegates |
|
| F | ofthePoonaConferenceoftheS.S.P. and certain members of the P.S.P.andI.S.P. assembledatAllahabad,Themeeting was convened by ·sriManiramBagri.Themeeting decided to annul"thead-hoc mergeroftheS.S-P.andP.S;P." Onp.t21,197_2,SriManiram Bagri sent a lettertotheElectiOn Comnnsston. 'f?.eremhestatedthat theunity between the S.S.P. and P.S.P. was votd. TheAllahabad assemblv has decided to dissolve ( <Jfl!')this unityandhasgiven rebirth( ) to the Socialist Party.Herequeste<l thatthe'Tree' symbol t;houldbeallottedtothereborn Socialist Party. . |
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| G H |
OnDecember 15and·16,1972 a Socialist Workers' Conference washeldatPatna. .Itdecidedthat"thename:ofthepartywouldbe Samyukta SocialistParty"andthat"thepartywould adopttooflag ofthe former S.S.P.Italso decidedthattheSteering Committee was "authorised to adopt a Constitution."OnDecember 30, 1972 another Conference was heldatLucknow.ThisOmference passed a resolution. Theresolution relevantly reads :"Thespecial national conferenceof SocialistPartyendorsesthedecision of annulling the adhoc merger of S.S.P.andP.S.P.thathasbeen passedbyteahabdConference ....Lestsome people mightbeundertheilluswn,th1sConferece unequivocally declaresthatthe merger of S.S.P.andP-S.P. herewtth |
270 SUPREME COURT REPORTS
[ 1974] 2 S.C.R.
stands alll:lule4 and the Party that is. working in the name of the so· called soc1ahst party under the General Secretaryship of Dandavate is not the same as the merged party between S.S.P. and P.S.P." It also eorsed the Patna decision that the party should be called the "Samyukta Socialist Par~y''. This ends the second chapter of the story.
The third chapter of the story begins from January 27, 1973. On that date the Chief Election Commissioner received a letter from Sri Ramnshanker Kaushik. H~ has described himself in the letter as a Co-convener of S.S.P. The subject matter of the letter is ; "allotment of 'Tree' symbol to S.S.P." It refers to the letter of Sri Maniram Bagri, dated May 31, 1972 and to his own letter, dated June 21, 1972 and . goes on to say that "the ad·hoc unity between the S.S.P. and the P.S.P. has broken down." lt states that 13 members from amongst the 25 memb-ers of the National Committee of the former S.S.P. were with their party. Almost all the legislators of the State Legislatures anq. Lok Sabha who were elected on S.S.P. ticket were with them. Those legislators who were elected to the State-Legislatures in 1972 after the ad-hoc unity were also with them. The letter ends with the request that the symbol 'Tre:e' should be allotted to the S.S.P. The Socialist Party opposed this request and the Chief Election Commissioner forwarded its caveat to Sri Ramashanker Kaushik. By his letter dated March 13, 1973 he sent his reply to the caveat. On March 14, 1973 the Chief Election Commissioner passed the order . impugned in this appeal. Pursuant to the order, he published a notification on March 29, 1973 under paragraph 17 of the Order. This notification mentions the Socialist Party as a National Party with its symbol 'Tree',
A B c D E
The Chief Election Commissioner posed two issues for decision : ( 1) whether Sri Ramashanker Kaushik's party could be recognised as the S.S.P.; and {2) whether the symbol 'Tree' could be reser\red for it.
On the first question he recorded these findings : ( 1 ) the merger of the S.S.P. and P.S.P. was complete and irrevocable and there emerged from this merger a new party caJ.Ied the Socialist Party; (2) it is no body's case that the ·Socialist Party has ceased to exist; (3) the Constitution of the new Party (called the S.S.P.) is different from the Constitution of the merged S.S.P. Some of the office bearers of the former party are new and were not the office bearers of the merged S.S.P.; and ( 4) many leaders of the merged s.S.P. are still members of the Socialist Party. On these findings he held that the party (now calling itself the S.S.P.) cannot be the old S.S.P. and is a new partly.
On the second. issue he recorded the5e findings : ( 1) the decision of the Chief Election Commissioner regarding merger of the. S.S.P. and P.S.P. and the formation of the Socialist Party has been acted upon by the former members of the merged S.S.P. and P.S.P., (2) the Socialist Party has contested the elections to the Legislative Assemblies of various States. held in 1972 on the basis of the 'Tree' symbol; (3) the Socialist Party was formed by the merger of the S.S.P. and P.S.P. and four other parties. ·The fornier members of the merged P.S.P. and other parties are still members _of the Socialist Party. · Only so!lle of the former members of the merged S.S.P. have formed a party wh1ch
F
G
H
RAMASHAi,KAR V. ELECTION COMMISSION (Dwivedi, !.)
271
Sri Patel; counsel for the appellants has made three submissions before us : ( 1) the case is covered by paragraph 15 of the Order; ( 2) in the alternative the case falb within the scope of Rules 5 and 10 0 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and paragraph 18 of lhe Order; and (3) as the Chief Election Commissioner did not hold any· inquiry regarding the allegiance of the majority of members and elected representatives, the order is void. In support of his arguments he has heaviLy relied on Samyukta Socialist Party vs. Election ·Commissum of India(l) and Sadiq Ali vs. Election Commission of lndia.(2)
0) [1967] 1 S.C.R. 643. (2) {19721 2 S.C .R. 318.
| 272 SUPREI\1ECOURTREPORTS [1974]2S.C.R. |
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| ary or assembly constituencies and the restrictions to which their choice shallbesubject." |
A | |
| Rule10(4),(5)and {6) read as f9llows: • ."(4)At an election in a parliamentaryorassembly con- stituency, where a poll becomes necessarythereturning ofli· ccr shall consider the choice ofsymbolexpresedby the contesting candidates in their nomination papers and shall subject to any general or special direction issued in tni~ behalf by the ElectionCommission,- · |
B | |
| (a)allot a different symbol to each contestingca~didate inconformity, as faraspracticable, with his choice; and . . |
I J;· |
|
| (b)if more contesting candidates than one have indicated their preference for the same symbol, decide by lot towh~hof such candidates the symbol will be allotted |
c | |
| (5)The allotment by the returning officer of a!ly sym- bol shall be final except whereitis inconsistent with any directions issued by the Election Commission in this behalf in . which case the Election Commission may revise the allotment in such manner as it thinksfit. (6)Every candidateorhis election agent shall forthwith be informed of the symbol allotted to the candidate and be supplied with a specimen thereofbythe returning officer." |
D | |
| r; We now passontothe . relevant provisionsofthe Order. Pro- fessedly, the Order has been made by the Election Commissionin exercise of its power under Art.324read with rules_5_and10.Itwas . madeonAugust31, 1968. Paragraph 3 of the Order deals with registration of political parties by the Election Commission.. Any associationofcitizens, desiringtobe registeredasa political party and intendingtoavail itself of the provisionsoftheiOrder. may make an · application to the Election Commission for its registration as ap.o1ftical party for the purpose of the Order. The paragraph prescribes certain formalities for registration. After hearing the applicants, theElction Commissioner shall decide whethertoregister or not to register the association as a political party for the purposes of the Order. His decision shallbefinal. Paragraph 4 provides that in every contested election a symbol shall be allotted to a contestingcanidatcinaccor~ dance with the provisions\ of the Order and different symbols shallbe allottedtodifferent contesting candidatesatan election in the same· constituency. According to paragraph_5,_there are two kindsofsym· bois:(1)reserved; and(2)free. A reserved symbol_is one which isreserved for a recognised po!itical party for exclusive allotment to contesting candidates set up by that party. All other symbols are free symbols. Under paragraph 6 itisopen to the ElectionCmmissi?I?- to specify which political party shall be regarded as a recognised pohtlcal party or as a non-recognised political party._Incerticontingecies a political party shallbetreatedaarecoIscdpohti.cal party m a State. According to paragraph 7,1fapohtJ.calpartyIStreated as a recognised political party under paragraph 6, m fourormore States. it shall be known as and shall enjoy the status. of a 'National Party' |
E F G II |
RAMASHANKAR V. ELECTlON COl\11\IlSSION (Dwivedi, /.)
273 .
F "Whce the Commission is satisfied on information in its possession that there Me rival sections or groups of a recognised political party each of whom claims to be that part,v, the Commission inay, after taking into. account all the avmlabc facts and circumstances of the case and hearing such representatives of the sections or groups and other persons as G desire to be heard, decide that one such rival section or group or none of such rival sections or groups is that recognised political party and the decision of the Commission shall be binding qn aU such rival sections. or groups"; ·
Paragraph 16 is also levant for our purposes. It reads : "( l) When two or more political parties, one or some II or all of whom is a recognised political party or are r~~og nised political partes, join together ~o f?rm a new pohhcal party, the Commisston may, after takmg u:to account all the
:.274 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [ 1974] 2 S,C,ll.
f~cts and circumstances of the case, hearing such representaA trves of the newly f?rmed party and other persons as desire to ~e heard and havmg regard to the provisions of this Order decrde' (a) whether such newly formed party should be a National Party or a State Party; and (b) the symbol to be allotted to it. B
B
(2) The deisin of the Commission under sub-paragraph ( 1) shall b2 brndmg on the newljy formed political party and all the component units thereof."
Paragraph 17 authorises the Commission to issue a notification in the Gazette .. of India specifying (a) the National Parties and the symbols respectrvely reserved for them, (b) the State parties and the C symbols reserved for them, (c) the unrecognised political parties; and (d) the free symbols for each State.
Sri Patel has also relied on paragraph 18(b). It reads:
It is first necessary to consider the impact of paragraph 16 on this -case. A new political party is formed by the joming together of at least one recognised political party and another political party. The newljy .formed political party may apply for recognition to the Election Commission under paragraph 16. After due hearing, the Election Commission may recognise the newly formed political party either as a E National Party or as a State Party and may allot a symbol to it. The decision of the Commission is binding on the newly formed political party and "all the component units thereof." The two significat'!t expressions in paragraph 16 are "joining together" and "all the com· ponent units thereof." Accordit)g to the Webster's New World Dic:tionary, 1962 Edn. page 789 the word "join" has these meanings: "(1) to place together, bring together, connect, pass on, combine; (2) F to make into one, unite; (3) to become a part or a member of; enter into association with; ( 4) to go to and combine with; ( 5) to enter into the company of; a company; (6) to go and take one's proper place in." The word has evidently got several meanings. When it is u5ed in the sense of "combine", it may imply mingling together of things, often with a loss of distinction of elements that completeby merge with one another. W:hen it is used in the sense of "unite'', it implies joining or G combining of things to form a single whole. When it is used in the . ·sense of "associate"; it implies joining with another or others as companion, partner etc. According to the same dictionary, the word "component" is derived from "Com" plus "Ponere". Componere ineans serving as one of the parts of whole, constituent. So the word com· ~ponent means : "part, constituent, ingredient."
H
The expression "joini11g together" in paagrph 16(1) is aoparent_ly 1used in its broad meaning. There is nothmg m the <:o_ntext t? restnct its m~aning •.o a case of ~nerger of two or more poht1cal parties and
RAMASHANKAR V. ELECTION COMMISSION (Dwivedi, /.) 275.
The next argument of Sri Patel also cannot prevail. Paragraph 18(l:i) of the Order provides that the Commision may issue instn!ctions and directions for the removal of any difficulty which may anse in relation to the implementation of the provisions of the Order. Obviously, no difficulty can arise in regard to the implementation of paragraph 16 of the Order in the present case. For the sake of ~~u G ment, it may be assumed that the merger of the Samyukta: Soctabst Party in the Socialist Party was not a valid and accomplished fact on the date wben the symbol "Tree" was allotted to the Socialist Party under paragraph 16 and that the Samyukta Socialist Part as been enjoying a ceaseless existence. Even so, the Samyukta Soctaltst Party is bound by the decision of the Chief Election Commissioner under paragraph 16(2) because the Sall1lyUkta Socialist Party would ·be 8 regarded as a component unit of the Socialit Party. It cannot now go back from his decision and claim the symbol "Tree". It should be observed that it has not been proved that the Socialist Party has ceased to exist.
~ .. ·
276
( 1974) 2 S.C;Jl,
SUPREME COURT REPORTS
On the view that we are taking, it is not necessary to decide whether A _. the S.S.P. had merged in the Socialist })~rty and destroyed its separate identity. But we should observe that if' It were necessary for u.S to decide that matter, we should have required evidence on certain aspects. Two vital elements of an association are members and a common pur· pose for ·which they associate. If an association is constituted under a statute; it t:an be dissolved only in accordance with that statute; if it is organised on the basis of a contract, then it can be dissolved only I in accordance with the terms of the contract, cominonly called the constitution. If the constitution provides for . dissolution by the con:. sent of all the members, the rule. of decision by majority is excluded. There seems to be no evidence on these material aspects.
The last argument also does not prevail. Rule 10(4) of the Rules will apply only when the Returning Officer is considenng the choice C of a symbol expressed by a contesting candidate· in his nomiruition paper. We are not concerned with such a case at present. Rule 5 will also not apply now. The provisions of paragraph 16 of the Order will prevail over rules S and 10 because rules 5 and 10 expressly are subject to any general or special directions or restrictions issued by the Election Commission. Sri Patel bas relied on Samyukta Socialist Party (supra). That decision was given under rule 5 at a time !'hen 0 the Commission had not. enacted the Order. As the present case is now directly governed by the provisions of the Order, the appellants c:'annot derive any help from that decision.
For the reasons already discussed, we find no force in this appeal, and it is dismissed with costs.
V.P.S.
3 issues framed by the court
Was paragraph 15 of the Symbols Order applicable to a group claiming to be the reborn SSP as against the recognised Socialist Party?
Did Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Election Rules or paragraph 18 govern the symbol dispute?
Was the Chief Election Commissioner's order void for not inquiring into the allegiance of the majority of members?
Colour shows how this judgement treated each authority
Sadiq Ali v. Election Commission of IndiaReferred¶94
[1972] 2 S.C.R. 318 · Who else cites this
Samyukta Socialist Party v. Election Commission of IndiaDistinguished¶101
[1967] 1 S.C.R. 643 · Who else cites this
3 provisions across 3 enactments
Ramashankar Kaushik and Another
Election Commission of India
Socialist Party
P. Jaganmohan Reddy
S. N. Dwivedi
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
