The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a petition that sought to direct the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ban the use of any ‘body part’ as an election symbol by political parties, saying it was intended to target the Congress party.

A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed requesting the Election Commission to stop allowing symbols like the “hand” to be used by political parties. The petition was seen as targeting the Congress party, whose symbol is a hand.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, along with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, dismissed the petition. The CJI remarked that the PIL was intended solely to challenge the Congress party’s symbol, LiveLaw reported.

“What kind of a petition is this? You cannot have an eye, you cannot have a nose, you cannot have a hand. The purpose of this is to get rid of the hand (symbol),” CJI said and questioned the petition’s validity.

The NGO ‘Sarguja Society For Fast Justice’ argued that election symbols resembling body parts might breach election rules, especially during the mandatory 48-hour campaign silence period before voting, as such symbols can’t be easily hidden.

The NGO filed a similar complaint to the ECI in 2018, but no action was taken. Further complaints were submitted in March and June 2024, urging the removal of these symbols to ensure fair elections.

The primary issues raised were whether the ECI should be allowed to allocate human body parts as election symbols and if this practice violates various election laws and constitutional provisions.

The petition sought an order for the ECI to “remove, freeze, and cancel any election symbol resembling a human body part.”