New Delhi, Oct 26 — The Supreme Court on Monday granted 10 days to the faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee to file its response before the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the dispute over the name and election symbol of the Trinamool Congress, while allowing the Mamata Banerjee-led faction a further 10 days to respond to the rival camp's affidavit.
The development comes amid an ongoing dispute over control of the party, with both factions staking a claim to the Trinamool's organisational and legislative structures.
Earlier, in an order passed on September 28, the apex court had directed the parties to complete their pleadings within four weeks, following which the ECI was to take three months to decide the controversy.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana had passed the directions while hearing a plea filed by Mamata Banerjee challenging the poll panel's interim order freezing the party's established name and reserved "Flowers and Grass" election symbol.
The latest directions came after the rival faction sought an extension of two weeks to file its response before the ECI, as the deadline for submitting the reply was due to expire on Monday.
The Mamata Banerjee-led faction opposed the request for additional time.
In its September 28 order, the apex court had noted that the response filed by the Mamata Banerjee-led faction was already on record, while the reply from the rival group was awaited.
"We grant four weeks' time to the contesting respondents as well as the petitioner to place on record their additional documents/affidavits/counter affidavits, etc. In other words, the pleadings shall be completed in all respects within four weeks," the CJI-led Bench had said.
It had further directed the ECI to take three months after completion of the pleadings to decide the dispute, while asking both factions to extend their full cooperation to the poll panel.
The Supreme Court had also clarified that it had not expressed any opinion on the merits of the dispute and that both sides would remain at liberty to raise their respective contentions before the ECI.
Mamata Banerjee had approached the top court seeking the quashing of the ECI's interim order freezing the party's existing name and symbol pending a final determination of the rival claims under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
The poll panel had said the interim arrangement was intended to place the rival groups on an equal footing and protect their respective rights and interests until the dispute was finally decided.
Following the order, the ECI allotted the Mamata Banerjee-led faction the name "Mamata All India Trinamool Congress" and the "football player" symbol, while the rival faction led by Ritabrata Banerjee was allotted the name "Democratic Trinamool Congress" and the "envelope" symbol for the by-elections in West Bengal.
The dispute had also spilled over into Parliament, where 20 rebel Trinamool Lok Sabha members broke away and aligned themselves with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming recognition as a separate parliamentary group. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has maintained that the MPs were elected on the Trinamool symbol and that their subsequent alignment with another political formation attracts the provisions of the anti-defection law.
Meanwhile, the rival camp has claimed the support of more than two-thirds of the party's Lok Sabha MPs and sought recognition as a separate parliamentary group. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has also challenged the delay in deciding disqualification petitions filed against the rebel MPs under the anti-defection law.