RAMASHANKAR KAUSHIK Vs. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Before Independence the Congress Socialist Party functioned as a group inside the Indian National Congress. After Independence it had to quit the Congress, and because known as the Socialist Party. On the eve of the general election in 1952 another group of persons came out of the Congress. They formed a new party called the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party. The Socialist Party and the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party participated in the first general election. 'Tree' was the symbol of the Socialist Party; 'Hut' of the Krishak Mazdoor Praja Party. Some time in 1953 the two parties merged together and formed a new party called the Praja Socialist Party (hereinafter called the P.S.P.). It was allotted the symbol of 'Hut'. This unity was not long lived. In 1956 a group of persons came out of the P.S.P. They re-formed the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party was allotted the symbol 'Tree'. The P.S.P. retained its symbol 'Hut'. The two parties participated in the second general election in 1957 with their respective symbols. In 1964 the P.S.P. and the Socialist Party merged to form a new party called the Samyukta Socialist Party (hereinafter referred to as the S.S.P.). This party was allotted the symbol 'Hut'. This unity also was short lived. In 1965 there was a split. One group came to be known as P.S.P., and the other as S.S.P. The P.S.P. got back its old symbol 'Hut'; the S.S.P. got the symbol 'Tree'. They participated in the general election of 1967 and bye-elections in 1969 with their respective symbol. The urge for unity was again strongly felt after the general election to the Lok Sabha in 1971 in which both parties made a very pooor showing. It appears that on May 25, 1971, a joint meetint of the Chairman and General Secretaries of the P.S.P. and the S.S.P. was held to draft an agreement for merger of the two parties for consideration by the two parties. They succeeded in hammering out a draft agreement. The draft agreement was entitled the "basis for the unification of the S.S.P. and the P.S.P." It is a long document. It laid emphasis on a broadbased unity of all democratic socialists who have genuine commitment to democratic socialism. It expressed the hope that "the unification of the S.S.P. and the P.S.P. can be a precursor to such a broadbased socialist consolidation." According to it, the

(2.) On August 23, 1971 Sri Surendra Mohan, Joint Secretary of the Socialist Party, sent a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner along with the two aforesaid letters as enclosures. His letter states that "both these parties have now merged along with some others to create the Socialist Party". The letter concluded by saying that until a request for reservation of symbol was made by the Socialist Party, the symbol 'Hut' and 'Tree' should not be allotted to any other party. It appears that the National Ad-hoc Committee of the Socialist Party met in Lonavala on October 22, 23 and 24, 1971 and took a decision as regards its election symbol. It opted for the symbol 'Tree'. Accordingly, on November 5, 1971 Sri Surendra Mohan sent another letter to the Chief Election Commissioner for reservation of the symbol 'Tree' to the Socialist Party. Paragraph 1 of the letter states that the 'Tree' symbol which was reserved for the S.S.P. should be reserved for the Socialist Party. Paragraph 2 states that the 'Hut' which was reserved for the P.S.P. should be frozen. It should not be allotted to any other party nor included in the list of symbols. After considering various documents and hearing some of the leaders of the erstwhile S.S.P. and P.S.P. as also a few persons who were opposed to the merger of various parties and formation of the Socialist Party, the Chief Election Commissioner passed an order on November 15, 1971. He came to the conclusion that the Socialist Party was entitled to be recognised as a National Party. He has also recorded this finding.

(3.) Somewhere in the middle of April, 1972 Sri Ramashankar Kaushik declared in a Press Conference that Sri Maniram Bagri was elected as the General Secretary of the Socialist Party in place of Sri Madhu Dandavate. This declaration was questioned by others in the Socialist Party and proved to be a harbinger of fissure in the Socialist Party. On May 13, and 14, 1972, certain persons calling themselves as delegates of the Poona Conference of the S.S.P. and certain members of the P.S.P. and I.S.P. assembled at Allahabad. The meeting was convened by Sri Maniram Bagri. The meeting decided to annul "the ad-hoc merger of the S.S.P. and P.S.P." On May 21, 1972, Sri Maniram Bagri sent a letter to the Election Commission. Therein he stated that the unity between the S.S.P. and P.S.P. was void. The Allahabad assembly has decided to dissolve