The Delhi High Court has given a final chance to the Centre and various Opposition parties to respond to a petition seeking to prohibit them from using the acronym INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance). The court, headed by Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet PS Arora, directed the respondents to file their replies within one week. Refusing to advance the hearing date, the court aims to hear and dispose of the petition on April 10.
The petitioner, Girish Bharadwaj, had requested an expedited hearing citing the pending status of the petition since August 2023 and the announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission. Despite eight previous opportunities, the Central Government and opposition parties have not submitted their replies, as informed by Advocate Vaibhav Singh representing the petitioner.
While the Election Commission has already filed its response, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing nine political parties including Congress and Trinamool Congress, cited “preliminary objections” and referenced previous Supreme Court rulings on the matter. The petition originally sought an interim order to halt the use of the INDIA acronym by 26 political parties, along with a prohibition on associating the national flag with the acronym.