New Delhi [India], July 15 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to entertain a plea seeking to de-register the Asaduddin Owaisi-led All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Musalimeen (AIMIM) as political party by the Election Commission of India.
A bench of Justices Justice Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, however, allowed petitioner to withdraw the plea and granted liberty to file fresh plea raising larger issues seeking reforms in the affairs of political parties.
The apex court refused to interfere with the Delhi High Court's judgment, which had rejected the plea filed by one Tirupati Narasimha Murari, against the registration of AIMIM as a political party under the Representation of the People Act.
"Counsel for the petitioner seeks permission to withdraw the present petition with liberty to file a fresh writ petition in which he wishes to raise larger issues - for reforms in respect of the political parties on different grounds. Permission granted," the bench stated in its order.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, appearing for the petitioner, contended that as a political party, AIMIM constitution intended to further the cause of only one religious community, i.e., Muslims.
He, therefore, argued it was against the principles of secularism which every political party must adhere to under the scheme of the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act.
Hearing the case, Justice Kant, pointed out that the Constitution itself specifically granted protection to minorities, and that a declaration to work for the interests of minorities may not be objectionable.
In 2024, the Delhi High Court rejected the plea saying that AIMIM fulfilled the legal requirement that the constitutional documents of a political party should declare that it bears true faith and allegiance to the Constitution.
Earlier on July 15, party President Asaduddin Owaisi questioned the authority of the Election Commission of India to determine citizenship of Indian nationals, accusing them of doing "NRC through back door" over the poll-body's decision to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls ahead of the Bihar Assembly election.