Recently, public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Top Court, requesting that the Election Commission of India (ECI) be directed to remove, freeze, and cancel election symbols that resemble "parts of the human body."

A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud is scheduled to hear the matter, according to the cause list published on the Supreme Court's website.

The plea stated that the PIL litigant had filed multiple complaints against election symbols resembling parts of the human body, aiming to ensure free and fair elections in India. However, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not taken any action on the matter.

In the plea, it was further mentioned that the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) mandates the cessation of the election campaign 48 hours before polling. Additionally, Section 130 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, prohibits the exhibition of election symbols within 100 meters of the polling area on election day. Therefore, symbols resembling or identical to human body parts cannot be concealed and may be misused by displaying such body parts.

The PIL was submitted by advocate Omprakash Parihar, urges the Supreme Court to determine whether the Election Commission of India (ECI) can allot symbols resembling human body parts as election symbols to any party. It questions whether such an allotment violates Article 324 of the Constitution of India, in conjunction with Section 29A and Section 130 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, Section 21 of the General Clauses Act, 1897, and Rules 5 and 10 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.