High Court for Election Commission reply on TTV Dhinakaran plea for suitable name & symbol

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today sought the Election Commission's response on TTV Dhinakaran's plea to use a suitable name or symbol for his faction till his plea laying claim to the two-leaves symbol is decided.

Justice Rekha Palli also issued notice to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam, to whose group the EC has alloted the 'two-leaves' symbol of AIADMK and sought their stand in the matter.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on February 6.


The application was filed by Dhinakaran in his main petition in which he has challenged the EC order allotting the 'two-leaves' symbol to the AIADMK faction of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E K Palaniswami and O Panneerselvam.

In the main petition which is pending, Dhinakaran has sought quashing of the November 23 last year's EC order, alleging that it was bad in law and needed to be set aside.

The issue has been lingering since April last year in the aftermath of the announcement of by-poll to Radha Krishnan Nagar Assembly constituency here following the death of AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa in December 2016.

The high court had on December 4, 2017 declined to grant any interim relief to V K Sasikala-TTV Dhinakaran faction of the AIADMK by dismissing their plea to use the 'hat' symbol in the by-poll to the R K Nagar assembly constituency.

The order of the Commission had come as a setback to deposed party leader Sasikala, who is currently serving a four-year sentence in a Bengaluru jail in a disproportionate assets case, and her nephew Dhinakaran.

Earlier, rival factions led by Sasikala and Panneerselvam had staked claim over the symbol. Palaniswami was then in the Sasikala camp.

In an interim order in March last year, the EC had barred the two factions from using the party's name or its two leaves symbol in the bypoll.

Later, a large number of legislators led by Palaniswami revolted against Sasikala and announced the merger of the two factions.

The Palaniswami-Panneerselvam camp then submitted affidavits before the EC staking claim over the party name and symbol, which was contested by the Sasikala-Dhinakaran faction.