‘Authority should be fair’: Calcutta High Court raps EC in ‘envelope’ symbol case

The Calcutta High Court has criticized the Election Commission over the allocation of the 'envelope' symbol, initially given to the Indian Secular Front for the Lok Sabha elections and the Assembly polls, to the Trinamool Congress's rebel faction for upcoming bypolls. The court questioned the fairness of the decision, asking "If the Election Commission has been guided by the private respondent, what remains further?

The authority should be fair before the court." The Indian Secular Front had contested the change, arguing that the symbol should not be given to another party. The Election Commission defended its decision, stating the symbol is free and there was no legal right to it. The court reserved its order, questioning the reasoning behind the allocation, particularly as the original candidate had also contested the general elections using the same symbol.