Delhi HC sends Kavitha back to EC over TRS party name

The Election Commission had asked Kavitha to suggest three alternative party names after receiving around 700 objections to Telangana Rakshana Sena.

Hyderabad: Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS) chief K Kavitha on Tuesday, July 7, moved the Delhi High Court after the Election Commission of India (ECI) objected to her proposed party name and asked her to suggest three alternatives. The court, however, declined to intervene at this stage and directed her to first respond to the poll panel.

In her petition, Kavitha sought directions to the ECI to allot the name Telangana Rakshana Sena to her party. She contended that the Commission, in a June 23 communication, had objected to the proposed name and directed her to submit three alternative names. The ECI also said the new party name should not result in the abbreviation “TRS”.

File a reply to EC first: HC to Kavitha

During the hearing, the Delhi High Court observed that Kavitha should first file an appropriate reply to the Election Commission’s notice before seeking judicial intervention. The court said entertaining the petition at this stage would amount to interfering with the statutory functions of the ECI and advised her to exhaust the process before the poll panel.

The court also noted that the proposed name could still give rise to the abbreviation “TRS”, an issue raised by the Election Commission in its communication.

Kavitha launched Telangana Rakshana Sena on April 25 and subsequently applied to register it as a political party. According to the petition, the Election Commission received around 700 objections to the proposed name before asking the party to suggest three alternative names within two weeks.

The High Court said Kavitha was free to approach it again, if required, after responding to the Election Commission and completing the statutory process.