Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji

Panaji, Sep 30: The Bombay High Court has directed the Election Commission to decide by November 30 on an application seeking registration of the proposed Goa Congress Party, after considering objections raised by the Indian National Congress.

The court accepted the submission of Election Commission counsel Gaurish Agni that the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Goa, would complete verification of the affidavits of 20 persons supporting the proposed party by October 9. The High Court directed the CEO to complete the verification and submit the report to the Commission.

According to the Election Commission, the application and its annexures were forwarded to the Goa CEO on September 25 to verify the existence and residential addresses of the 20 supporters from North and South Goa. Once the verification is completed, a report will be submitted to the concerned EC officer for a decision.

The High Court directed the EC to dispose of the registration application by November 30 after providing an opportunity of hearing to applicant Francisco Gouveia and Congress leader Girish Chodankar.

The court questioned the delay in deciding the application, which was filed in June, observing that the tenure of the Goa Legislative Assembly is nearing its end and a new political party would require sufficient time to organise itself ahead of an election. The current Assembly's term is due to end in March 2027.

Agni submitted that the documentation accompanying the proposed party's application was not complete until the end of August. He also told the court that the Election Commission receives around 500 applications annually for registration of political parties and that processing such applications is an ongoing exercise.

The court questioned whether the terms of assemblies in other states from where such applications were received were also nearing expiry. Agni said, according to his understanding, elections in Goa would not be held before February.

The High Court was hearing two petitions. One was filed by Gouveia seeking directions to the Election Commission to consider his application for registration of the Goa Congress Party. The other was filed by Chodankar, raising objections to the proposed registration and seeking action on representations submitted to the Commission.

The Congress has objected to the proposed name, arguing that its similarity to “Goa Congress” could create confusion among voters. The proposed party's registration application and the objections are to be considered by the EC before it takes a final decision.

The court's latest directions require the Goa CEO to complete verification by October 9, following which the Election Commission will consider the application and objections and take a final decision by November 30.