Kerala High Court Stays ECI Order Delisting Kerala Congress & Other Parties To Enable Participation In Local Body Elections

The High Court was hearing writ petitions filed by political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, challenging the order of the Election Commission of India removing them from the list of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties and marking them as "Delisted RUPPs".

A Single-Judge Bench of Justice V.G. Arun referred to the grievance raised against the delisting and ruled: “There shall be an interim stay of operation of order…issued by the Election Commission of India, to the extent the petitioners are taken off from the list of Registered Political Parties and marked as 'DELISTED RUPPs', so as to enable the candidates of the petitioners to contest in the ongoing local bodies election, in the symbols allotted to the parties by the State Election Commission, if those symbols have not already been allotted to other parties”.

Senior Advocate T.Krishnanunni represented the petitioners, while Adv. M. Ajay represented the respondents.

Background

The petitioners asserted that they were registered political parties under Section 29A and had been active within the State. They contended that the Election Commission lacked the statutory power to deregister or delist political parties on the grounds of non-participation in elections.

They relied on judicial precedents holding that Section 29A does not provide for cancellation of registration and that the Election Commission acts quasi-judicially while granting registration.

It was argued that the show cause notice and the subsequent enquiry conducted by the Chief Electoral Officer were procedurally defective and that the final order was issued by a different authority without a personal hearing.

The petitioners also submitted that they wished to contest the imminent local body elections and that the impugned order had immediate electoral consequences.

The Election Commission contended that it possessed plenary powers necessary for the proper conduct of elections and that the delisting was justified to ensure transparency. It relied on the Registration Guidelines and the Election Symbols Order to justify its authority to act against inactive political parties.

Court’s Observation

The Kerala High Court examined Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act and noted that the statute does not contain any provision authorising the cancellation or delisting of political parties after registration. It referred to the principle that registration is a quasi-judicial function and that the absence of a review power restricts the authority of the Election Commission.

The Court considered the precedent in Indian National Congress (I), which held that there is no statutory basis for deregistration except in limited circumstances such as fraud, alteration of essential constitutional principles, or similar grounds requiring no factual enquiry.

The Court also noted the petitioners’ contention that they never undertook any commitment at the time of registration, permitting delisting on the ground of non-participation in elections. The Court found that whether such alleged “constructive fraud” existed required examination at a later stage.

The Court further observed that the reliance on the Election Symbols Order to justify delisting was prima facie insufficient, as the Symbols Order governs recognition and allotment of election symbols and not the cancellation of registration under Section 29A. The question whether plenary powers could override the statutory scheme was therefore left open for adjudication.

The Court emphasised that immediate prejudice would arise if the delisting order operated during the ongoing local body elections, particularly when the Election Commission had stated that it had “no objection” to the petitioners contesting local elections despite the impugned order

Conclusion

The High Court granted an interim stay on the delisting order issued by the Election Commission of India to the extent it removed the petitioners from the list of registered political parties.

The Court directed that the petitioners’ candidates be permitted to contest in the ongoing local body elections using the symbols allotted by the State Election Commission, provided those symbols had not already been allotted to others.

The writ petitions were posted for further consideration.

Cause Title: Kerala Congress (Skariah Thomas) v. The Chief Electoral Officer & Secretary, Election Department & Another

Appearances

Petitioners: Senior Advocates T. Krishnanunni, Jaju Babu, E.K. Nandakumar, with Advocates Ajith G. Anjarlekar and others

Respondents: Standing Counsels M. Ajay and Deepu for the State Election Commission

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