HC Dismisses TRS Petition To Remove Symbols Similar To Car

The Telangana High Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition filed by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) seeking a direction to the Election Commission (EC) to remove symbols similar to the TRS' car symbol, for the by-election for the Munugodu Assembly constituency.

The High Court pointed out that it could not interfere in the electoral process once an election was notified.

The TRS had approached the High Court seeking the deletion of eight symbols which looked similar to its official symbol of car, after the Election Commission of India (ECI) failed to respond on the memorandum submitted to it by the TRS leaders.

The ruling party had mentioned in the petition to the court that the car had been an official symbol of the TRS for the last two decades, and that the party had fought many elections on that symbol. However, the opposition parties were trying to damage the prospects of the TRS in the election by putting up candidates with identical symbols, including camera, chapathi roller, dolli, road roller, soap dish, television, sewing machine and ship, which were available in the list of free symbols, to confuse the voters on the EVM machines, the TRS claimed.

The identical symbols had the potential to cause confusion among the voters supporting the TRS and to divert such supporters' votes to the so-called independents, the party said in its petition.