Kolkata: Calcutta High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea filed by the Indian Secular Front (ISF) challenging the Election Commission of India ’s allotment of the ‘Envelope’ symbol to Ritabrata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTC) for the Nandigram bypoll on Oct 6.
Justice Krishna Rao held that the symbol had been allotted to ISF only for the 2026 assembly election, which concluded in May, and did not create any right over its use in the bypoll.
“This Court finds that the symbol ‘Envelope’ was allotted to the petitioners to contest the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Election, 2026 which is completed in the month of May, 2026 and thus the petitioners cannot claim any right over the said symbol for the bypoll as the allotment of symbol for the said election was the conditional one,” the court said. Earlier reporting noted: Cal HC dismisses ISF plea, Democratic TMC to contest bypoll with envelope symbol The Calcutta high court on Wednesday dismissed the Indian Secular Front’s (ISF) petition challenging the Election Commission’s allotment of the “envelope” symbol to the Ritabrata Banerjee-led Democratic Trinamool Congress (DTMC) for the Nandigram Assembly by-election in West Bengal. Earlier reporting noted: DTMC will now contest the by-polls with the “envelope” symbol on October 6. The ISF will have to contest with the “almirah” symbol. Earlier reporting noted: “A bench of Justice Krishna Rao dismissed the petition filed by the ISF challenging the allotment of the ‘envelope’ symbol to the DTMC,” said a senior lawyer present in the courtroom.
The judge also noted that ISF had not produced any document showing that it had applied for the symbol for the bypoll. Senior advocate Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, appearing for ISF, argued that the bypoll was a continuation of the assembly election and questioned the reassignment of the symbol. “This time, the same by-election ISF is contesting, now you suddenly, to address the internal dispute of a particular political party, you give our symbol to them. Is it a reasonable exercise of power? The ECI submitted that ‘Envelope’ was a common symbol allotted to ISF only for the general election and did not confer a right to seek it for a bypoll.
During the hearing, Justice Rao had questioned the ECI’s handling of ISF’s Sept 17 representation. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kolkata | Silver Rate in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata | Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Petrol Price in Kolkata | Diesel Price in Kolkata | CNG Price in Kolkata | LPG Price in Kolkata Stay updated with the latest Kolkata news.
After the verdict, ISF counsel Samim Ahmed said he would comment on a possible appeal after going through the judgement. Download the TOI App.