The ECI received a serious, sensitive objection to the registration of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), the Delhi HC said

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Delhi High Court that it has received “serious and highly sensitive” submissions against the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) and that the organisation’s registration as a political party may adversely affect the sovereignty and integrity of the country.

The ECI said that while the issue of registration of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) was under consideration, the commission received a “sensitive” submission in July that the outfit had roots in “separatism”, was formed by individuals detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and raised serious concerns about its commitment to the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

It said that while the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab issued a positive verification report on the organization on 27 April 2026, the objection regarding “separatist roots” was received on 9 July 2026 and the CEO was then instructed to conduct a “comprehensive background investigation” and submit a detailed report.

The inquiry report is yet to be delivered, ECI said.

The submissions were made to the ECI in two separate affidavits before Justice Saurabh Banerjee, who has now posted the matter for hearing on January 11, 2027.

The affidavits were filed by the ECI in response to a petition by Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), which sought to direct the election body to decide on the party’s application dated January 22, 2025 in a time-bound manner with an outer limit of one week.

The organization sought to approve the proposed name “Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De)” and register it as a political party.

Waris Punjab De was founded by late Deep Sandhu and later headed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. In January 2025, Singh’s father and MP Faridkot Sarabjit Singh Khalsa announced the formation of a new political party, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De).

Legislative assembly elections in Punjab are held in February 2027.

The ECI, in its affidavits, said it received the petitioner’s application for party registration on January 22, 2025 and issued a deficiency notice last September after detailed scrutiny. It said that while the petitioner was given 30 days to rectify the defects, he submitted the corrected documents in January this year, causing an undue delay of over four months.

The ECI said that when the commission sent reminders to the Punjab director general to expedite the field verification reports, the director general submitted a positive verification report in April, which was being actively considered.

“The present Writ Petition was prematurely filed by the petitioner on 30 May 2026. During the hearing of this matter on 9 July 2026, the Commission received a highly sensitive submission alleging that the organization ‘Waris Punjab De’ has its roots in separatism, was founded by persons detained under the National Security Act (NSA) and raises serious concerns of oversight, integrity and integrity vis-à-vis India,” said one of the hon. statement.

It said that the commission cannot be made to circumvent the investigation through a writ petition.

“Registration of an organization without concluding an inquiry into its commitment to the sovereignty and integrity of India would directly frustrate the legislative intent contained in Section 29A(5) and Section 29A(7) of the RP Act,” the ECI said.

It said that the party’s contention regarding the possible removal of the common election symbol for the Punjab Legislative Assembly elections is legally unsustainable.

“Under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Regulations, 1968, the allotment of a common symbol to a registered unrecognized political party is strictly conditional on the party obtaining statutory registration under Section 29A of the RP Act, 1951.

“The applicant authority has no prior or fundamental right to the election symbol while its application for registration is pending statutory review,” the election body said.

She said that the Section 29A process was not a “superficial ministerial formality” and that it could not be forced by a writ of mandamus to bypass an ongoing investigation.

The European citizens’ initiative described the petition as unfounded and did not raise any fundamental legal issue.

While the first affidavit was filed by the ECI on October 1, an amended/detailed affidavit was filed on November 3, 2026, stating that a “comprehensive background investigation” report from the Punjab CEO was still awaited and reminders were also sent to the CEO.

She added that once the report is received and if it is positive, further steps will be taken for registration under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act. Therefore, the ECI said that the petition filed by Waris Punjab De should be disposed of.

Published – 11 Nov 2026 08:52 IST