HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY AND HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE M.SATYANARAYANA MURTHY WRIT PETITION No. 14350 OF 2014 Dated: 8th May, 2014 BETWEEN Karijjengla Naresh Kumar, Karimnagar District.
…Petitioner And Election Commission of India, Represented by its Commissioner, New Delhi and others.
…..Respondents HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R. SUBHASH REDDY AND HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE M.SATYANARAYANA MURTHY WRIT PETITION No.14350 OF 2014 ORDER: ( per the Hon'ble Sri Justice R. Subhash Reddy) This writ petition is filed seeking a direction by way of mandamus to declare the action of respondents in allotting wrong party symbol to the petitioner in the General Elections held on 30.4.2014 to 20-Koratla Assembly Constituency of Karimnagar District as illegal and a consequential direction to the respondents to conduct re-polling to the aforesaid Constituency.
The case of the petitioner is that pursuant to the notification issued by the Election Commission, he has filed nomination to 20-Koratla Assembly Constituency in Karimnagar District as he was a contestant from Shiv Sena party, which is a registered and recognized political party. It is stated that there is a reserved symbol of bow and arrow to the said party.
In the instant writ petition, it is the grievance of the petitioner that though he was a candidate from recognized political party of Shiv Sena, the respondents have not allotted the reserved symbol to the said party. In the aforesaid backdrop, he seeks direction for declaration by way of mandamus and for consequential directions to conduct re-election to the aforesaid Constituency.
Even according to the petitioner, the notification was issued and the election process also has almost come to an end inasmuch as elections were held on 30.4.2014. What remains is only declaration of result, which date is also notified to be on 16.5.2014. As per the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951( for short ‘the Act’), there is an effective alternative remedy of Election Petition vide Section 80 of the said Act.
In view of the availability of alternative remedy under Section 80 of the Act and in view of the bar contained in Article 329 of the Constitution of India, the matters concerning elections cannot be called in question in the writ petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. However, the petitioner can avail the remedy of filing an election petition before the Election Tribunal.
For the aforesaid reasons, the writ petition is dismissed granting liberty to the petitioner to approach the Election Tribunal by way of election petition. No costs.
R. SUBHASH REDDY,J M.SATYANARAYANA MURTHY, J Date: 8th May, 2014 Pnb/lur