In a major move, we see that the Kerala High Court in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Kerala Congress (Skariah Thomas) v The Chief Electoral Officer & Secretary Election & anr and connected cases in W.P.(C).Nos.42377,42726,42780 & 42858 of 2025 that was pronounced as recently as on November 20, 2025 has granted interim relief to Kerala Congress and several other political parties also by staying the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) order that had removed them from the list of Registered Political Parties and also added them to the list of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (Delisted RUPPs).

It must be noted that the Single Judge Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice VG Arun pointed out that Section 29A does not contain any provision empowering the ECI to cancel or delist a registered political party and underscored on the gist of the Apex Court’s judgment in Indian National Congress (I) v Institute of Social Welfare and Others (2002) 5 SCC 685, which had explicitly held that the Election Commission did not have the authority to deregister a party except in limited circumstances such as fraud, forgery, or violation of the constitutional undertaking mandated under Section 29A(5). We thus also see that the Kerala High Court granted interim stay on the Election Commission’s delisting order and so also allowed the parties to contest in the upcoming local body elections. Very rightly so!

At the very outset, this robust, remarkable, rational and recent judgment authored by the Single Judge Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice VG Arun of Kerala High Court sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that:
The petitioners are political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’) and has been in existence for the past few years. The petitioners are aggrieved by the order No.F.No.56/Delisting/2025/PPS-III issued by the Election Commission of India (hereinafter referred to as the ‘ECI’ for short) removing them from the list of Registered Political Parties and marking them as “DELISTED RUPPs” in the register of Registered Unrecognised Political Parties (‘RUPP’ for short) maintained by the ECI.

Do note, the Bench notes in para 9 that:
As per Section 2(f) of the Act,“political party” means an association or a body of individual citizens of India registered with the Election Commission as a political party under Section 29A. The procedure for registration of such an association of individuals as a political party is detailed in Section 29A extracted hereunder;

29A. Registration with the Election Commission of associations and bodies as political parties.--

1. Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of this Part shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration as a political party for the purposes of this Act.
   URL (plain text): https://example-application-url.com
2. Every such application shall be made:
   1. If the association or body is in existence at the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988 (1 of 1989), within sixty days next following such commencement;
   2. If the association or body is formed after such commencement, within thirty days next following the date of its formation.
3. (3) Every application under sub-section (1) shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the association or body and presented to the Secretary to the Commission or sent by registered post.
   URL (plain text): https://example-postal-guidelines.com
4. (4) Every such application shall contain the following particulars:
   1. Name of the association or body
   2. The State in which its head office is situated
   3. The address for communications
   4. Names of president, secretary, treasurer, and other office-bearers
   5. Numerical strength of members and category-wise strength
   6. Information about local units, if any
   7. Representation in Parliament or State Legislature, if any
5. The application shall include a copy of the memorandum or rules & regulations of the association, containing a declaration of allegiance to:
   • The Constitution of India
   • The principles of socialism, secularism, and democracy
   • Sovereignty, unity and integrity of India
6. The Commission may call for additional particulars as needed.
7. After review and hearing, the Commission shall decide whether to register the association as a political party and communicate its decision.
   Proviso: Registration requires conformity with sub-section (5).
8. The decision of the Commission shall be final.
9. Any change in the party’s material details after registration must be communicated to the Commission without delay.

Briefly stated, the Bench observes in para 10 that:
A close scrutiny of the provision shows that sub-section (4) stipulates the particulars that should be contained in an application for registration of a political party. Sub-section (6) empowers the Commission to call for such other particulars as it deems fit from the applicant. As per sub-section (7), after considering all the particulars thus provided and the relevant factors, the Commission shall either register or refuse to register a political party. No provision for cancellation of registration is provided in Section 29A. The absence of such a provision was taken into consideration by the Apex Court in Indian National Congress (I) (supra), paragraphs 40 and 41 of the judgment being relevant.”

Be it noted, the Bench notes in para 11 that:
Although learned counsel for the ECI contended that the exceptions culled out in sub-paragraph 3 of paragraph 41 above would apply to the petitioners in view of their undertaking given at the time of registration and the subsequent breach which amounts to constructive fraud, the petitioners assert that the parties have not given any undertaking or acknowledged that, failure to contest in the elections for six years can result in their registration being cancelled.”

It is also worth noting that the Bench then notes in para 12 that:
The reliance placed by the ECI on the Symbols Order to trace its power for cancellation of registration also appears to be prima facie unsustainable, the objective of the Symbols Order being to provide for specification, reservation, choice and allotment of symbols at elections in Parliamentary and Assembly Constituencies, for the recognition of the political parties in relation thereto and for matters connected therewith. No doubt, as held by the Apex Court, the Election Commission of India is having plenary powers, but the larger question is whether such power is boundless and beyond the purview of judicial review.”

Most significantly, the Bench then encapsulates in para 13 what constitutes the cornerstone of this notable judgment postulating precisely that:
The contention of the petitioners that the impugned order was passed without affording proper opportunity of hearing and the order is passed by an authority, other than the one which had conducted the enquiry also require consideration. Yet another pertinent aspect is that the election to the local bodies of the State has been announced and the petitioners want to field their candidates in the election. Here, the submission made on behalf of the ECI that the Commission has no objection in the petitioners contesting the election in spite of the order under challenge assumes relevance. Taking the above factor also into consideration, I find the petitioners to be entitled for the following interim order.”

Finally, the Bench then draws the curtains of this notable judgment and concludes by directing and holding in para 14 that:
There shall be an interim stay of operation of Order No.F.No.56/Delisting/2025/PPS-III issued by the Election Commission of India, to the extent the petitioners are taken off from the list of Registered Political Parties and marked as ‘DELISTED RUPPs’, so as to enable the candidates of the petitioners to contest in the ongoing local bodies election, in the symbols allotted to the parties by the State Election Commission, if those symbols have not already been allotted to other parties.

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi, A 82, Defence Enclave
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera, Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh