By a majority 2-1 verdict, a three-judge bench said the bench-mark laid down by the Commission is not "unreasonable" and dismissed a bunch of petitions filed by various unrecognised political paries in several states.
"The Election Commission has set down a bench-mark which is not unreasonable. In order to gain recognition as a political party, a party has to prove itself and to establish its credibility as a serious player in the political arena of the State.
"Once it succeeds in doing so, it will become entitled to all the benefits of recognition, including the allotment of a common symbol," the majority verdict of Justices Altamas Kabir and S S Nijjar said.
Justice Jasti Chelameswar, however, disagreed and gave a dissenting verdict saying that "there is no rational nexus between the classification of recognised and unrecognised political parties".
"In my opinion, this Court, failed to appreciate that in a democratic set up, while the majorities rule, minorities are entitled to protection. Otherwise, the mandate of Article 14 would be meaningless. If democracies are all about only numbers, Hitler was a great democrat," Justice Chelameswar remarked.
