SC agrees urgent listing of Mamata Banerjee' s plea challenging EC's decision to freeze party name, symbol

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list for urgent hearing a plea by former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the Election Commission's decision to freeze the Trinamool Congress' name and party symbol amid a dispute between two rival factions of the TMC.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal mentioned the matter seeking urgent hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana.

"They issue a notification and in the middle of notification, they freeze the symbol. What is going on ? We want urgent listing," Sibal submitted.


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The Election Commission on Friday had allotted separate names and symbols to the two rival factions following its interim decision a day earlier to bar both groups from using the 'All India Trinamool Congress' name and reserved its symbol pending a substantive determination of the dispute.

In its interim order issued on Thursday night, the poll panel, after hearing leaders of the two factions led by Banerjee and Arup Roy, said the matter requires substantive determination by the poll body under provisions of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968.