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Edappadi K. Palaniswami v. T.T.V. Dhinakaran & Ors.

Miscellaneous Application · 2019 INSC 1416Decided 7 Feb 2019
Miscellaneous Application No. 31 of 2019 in SLP (C) No. 7258 of 2018
Justice A.M. Khanwilkar · Justice Ajay Rastogi

Background

This arose from the split in the AIADMK party between the faction led by Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) and the faction led by T.T.V. Dhinakaran (TTVD). The Election Commission had earlier ruled in favour of the EPS-led group's right to the party's name and "Two Leaves" symbol, a decision TTVD challenged in the Delhi High Court. While that writ petition was pending, a Single Judge allowed TTVD's group to use an interim name and symbol (such as "Pressure Cooker") for elections; the Supreme Court had kept that interim order in abeyance in March 2018 while directing the High Court to decide the main case quickly. When a fresh bye-election was notified in late 2018/early 2019, TTVD approached the Supreme Court again, since the High Court case was still undecided.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that it was not "functus officio" and could still entertain TTVD's application because it had expressly reserved liberty for parties to return if a fresh election was notified. On merits, it agreed with the High Court's Single Judge that, even though TTVD's group was not a separately registered and recognised political party, equitable considerations (and the Election Commission's own past practice in similar party-split disputes) justified giving it an interim common name and symbol while its claim to be the "real" AIADMK remained sub judice. The Court vacated its earlier order keeping the Single Judge's interim arrangement in abeyance, and directed that if the Delhi High Court did not finally decide the writ petition within four weeks, the Election Commission must implement the Single Judge's 9 March 2018 interim order for any upcoming bye-elections or Parliamentary elections.

Lesson Learnt

Courts can grant interim, equity-based relief (such as a temporary party symbol) to a group whose claim to be a political party's "real" faction is still being litigated, so that ongoing elections are not rendered unfair while the underlying dispute is pending: interim relief does not require the applicant to have already won the final case.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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