SC dismisses review plea against rejection of Dhinakaran-Sasikala's AIADMK party symbol

The Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its March 26, 2019 order that had rejected a plea for allotment of the common symbol of 'pressure cooker' to TTV Dhinakaran and V K Sasikala faction of AIADMK.

As Dhinakaran had won the R K Nagar by-poll, once represented by TN CM J Jayalalithaa, with the symbol, they wanted to retain it in 39 Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and one in Puducherry.

On April 23, a bench presided over by Chief Justice S A Bobde dismissed a review petition by Sasikala against the last year's order.

"We do not find any error in the order impugned, much less an apparent error on the face of the record, so as to call for its review," said the bench, also comprising Justices Deepak Gupta and Sanjiv Khanna.

The top court had then told the Election Commission to allot a symbol common to all candidates put up by Dhinakaran and Sasikala in Parliamentary constituencies in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

The court, however, had said if any candidate is elected, he or she will be treated as independent as the faction was still not a registered political party.

The court had then rejected their plea for the common symbol of 'pressure cooker'.

Dhinakaran had then floated a new party 'Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam' after his rival E K Palaniswami-O Panneerselvam faction was declared as the 'real' AIADMK party with ‘two leaves’ election symbol.

Dhinakaran and Sasikala challenged the validity of February 28, 2019, Delhi High Court judgment which upheld the Election Commission decision to recognise the rival E K Palaniswami-O Panneerselvam faction as the 'real' AIADMK party worthy of the ‘two leaves’ election symbol.

In their plea, Dhinakaran and Sasikala sought a stay on the EC's decision of November 2017 to allot his rival group the ‘two leaves’ symbol.