The opposition parties within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the public interest litigation (PIL) petition contesting the usage of the INDIA acronym for their alliance is not legally valid.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the opposition parties, argued that the petition brought forth by activist Girish Bhardwaj is entirely non-maintainable. Singhvi also rejected the petitioner's claims that the opposition parties were employing the national flag, stating, "Who is utilizing the national flag? If I were to do so, they could potentially charge me under the National Emblems Act."

Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma also observed that the use of the national flag is not permissible. Nonetheless, the court postponed the case to November 22 since neither the Central government nor the opposition parties had submitted their responses in the matter. The bench, including Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, granted the respondents a two-week period to file their replies.

The petition has been submitted by activist Girish Bhardwaj, who contends that the opposition parties are employing the name "INDIA" for their self-serving purposes, which could potentially have a detrimental impact on the peaceful, transparent, and equitable conduct of the 2024 general elections. The plea further asserts that this could expose the citizens to unnecessary violence and disrupt the country's law and order.

Furthermore, he also pointed out that the use of the name "INDIA" is prohibited under Sections 2 and 3 of The Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act 1950.

Bharadwaj additionally referenced statements made by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He argued that these leaders have promoted their alliance under the banner of the "name of our nation" and have sought to depict a conflict between the NDA/BJP and Hon'ble Prime Minister Mr. Modi with our own nation.

The petition goes on to claim that Rahul Gandhi's statement has generated confusion among the general public, suggesting that the forthcoming elections will be a contest between an alliance (NDA) and the entire country (INDIA).

The court had previously issued a notice to the 26 opposition parties forming the alliance, the Central government, and the Election Commission of India (ECI). In response, the ECI stated that it lacks the authority to regulate political alliances.