Supreme Court Pushes ECI For Early Decision In Trinamool Symbol Row, Cites Shiv Sena Delay

New Delhi, September 24, 2026: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to indicate how much time it would need to finally decide the dispute over the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) name and its “Flowers & Grass” election symbol between the factions led by Mamata Banerjee and Ritabrata Banerjee.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana stressed the need for an early decision and asked the poll body to propose a reasonable timeline. The court said the process should give both sides a fair opportunity to present their case while ensuring that the dispute does not drag on. The matter will be taken up again next week, Live Law reports.

Why The Court Wants A Quick Decision

The bench was hearing a writ petition filed by former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress founder Mamata Banerjee challenging the ECI’s September 17 interim decision to freeze the AITC name and its “Flowers & Grass” symbol amid competing claims from the two factions.

Addressing Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the ECI, the Chief Justice asked the Commission to find out how much time it would require for final adjudication. He stressed that the timeframe should be reasonable, allowing the parties a fair opportunity and the ECI sufficient time to consider the matter, but should not be “too long”.

The court’s emphasis on speed is significant because the dispute is unfolding alongside elections. Candidates from both factions had filed nominations for the bye-elections claiming to represent the Trinamool Congress, making prolonged uncertainty over the party’s identity and symbol particularly consequential.

Sibal Questions Timing Of ECI Order

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mamata Banerjee, questioned whether the ECI could pass such an interim order in the middle of the election process.

Sibal argued that delaying the matter and then issuing an order during elections effectively deprived Banerjee of an opportunity to seek a meaningful legal remedy. He said the dispute had reached the ECI in July but remained pending for months before the interim order was issued during the bye-election process.

According to Sibal, the ECI could have passed the order much earlier, which would have allowed Banerjee to challenge it before the election process advanced.

He alleged that “the intent of the Election Commission of India is to leave me without a remedy”.

The Chief Justice, however, questioned what the ECI was expected to do when it had received nominations from candidates belonging to both factions, with each claiming to represent the real AITC.

Interim Election Arrangement ‘Cannot Be Touched’

Justice Bagchi pointed out that the election schedule had already been notified and said the ECI’s interim arrangement for the notified West Bengal bye-elections “cannot be touched”.

The judge said the issue before the court was whether the ECI had arrived at a prima facie satisfaction before concluding that an interim arrangement was necessary to place both rival groups on an even footing.

Sibal responded that there had been “no consideration at all”.

The bench also indicated that judicial interference with the interim arrangement may not be possible in the middle of the election process. Sibal clarified that he was not pressing for the interim order to be disturbed. Instead, he sought a direction requiring the ECI to decide the substantive dispute in October, pointing out that local body elections were also due soon.

Shiv Sena Delay Finds Mention

Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Ritabrata Banerjee, argued that the ECI had routinely passed interim orders in similar factional disputes, including the Shiv Sena case.

Justice Bagchi responded by referring to the consequences of delay in that dispute, observing, “We have seen what delay does in Shiv Sena, Sir.”

The reference underlined the bench’s concern that a party symbol dispute should not remain unresolved indefinitely, particularly when successive elections could be affected while rival factions continue to contest the same political identity.

Rohatgi, however, argued that an October deadline would be too short and sought more “breathing time”.

Senior Advocate Neeraj Kishan Kaul, also appearing for the Ritabrata faction, said the dispute involved complicated factual questions and would require affidavits and evidence. He submitted that one month would not provide sufficient time to complete the process.

How The Trinamool Symbol Row Began

Banerjee filed the writ petition challenging the ECI decision on September 18, with the Commission and Ritabrata Banerjee made respondents.

The ECI had passed its interim order on September 17 after concluding that two rival groups, one led by Mamata Banerjee and the other by Ritabrata Banerjee, were each claiming to be the real Trinamool Congress.

Pending a final decision, the Commission froze the AITC name and its original “Flowers & Grass” election symbol.

The ECI subsequently allotted the name “Mamata All India Trinamool Congress” and the “Football Player” symbol to the Mamata Banerjee-led faction. Ritabrata Banerjee’s faction was allotted the name “Democratic Trinamool Congress” and the “Envelope” symbol.

Interim Symbols For October 6 Bye-Elections

The arrangement applies to the upcoming bye-elections, including those in Nandigram and Rejinagar scheduled for October 6.

The ECI has made it clear that the allocation of separate names and symbols is only an interim arrangement and does not amount to a final decision on which faction can claim the original party name and symbol.

The substantive dispute will be decided separately under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.

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For the two factions, therefore, the immediate electoral arrangement may already be settled, but the larger battle over the Trinamool Congress identity remains open. The Supreme Court’s intervention has now put the focus on how quickly the ECI can resolve that dispute while giving both sides adequate opportunity to present their claims.

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