Hyderabad, July 23: The High Court granted temporary relief to All India Congress Committee president Sonia Gandhi, Pradesh Congress Committee president D Srinivas and Vijayawada City Congress Committee president V Gurunatham from appearing before the II Additional District Judge, Vijayawada.
Justice DSR Verma issued the orders on a petition filed by an advocate, BV Ranga Rao, before the II Additional District judge, Vijayawada for restraining the Congress from using the tricolour and for declaring the use of the flag as arbitrary, illegal and void. The court issued notices to the Congess leaders to appear before it.
Seeking relief from appearing before the said court, a petition was filed in the High Court here. The Congress submitted to the court that the late Pingali Venkaiah, a resident of Vijayawada, had designed the flag for the Indian National Congress and the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, modified it by incorporating `spinning wheel’ (raatnam/ charkha). It was adopted as the flag of the Indian National Congress before a gathering of around two lakh citizens at the AICC session held in Vijayawada in 1921.
The national flag was designed and adopted 26 years later (in 1947) replacing the spinning wheel with the Ashoka’s Dharma Chakra. It cannot, therefore, be said that the party flag resembled the national flag and the Congress should not use it, it was argued.
The petitoner submitted that the judge should have noticed that the proceedings initiated were politically- motivated and publicity-oriented, and courts should not be allowed to be dragged into such litigation.
The High Court exempted the leaders from appearing before the judge in Vijayawada.
–Agencies–