MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has refused to grant interim relief to an organization seeking registration with the Election Commission of India (ECI) as a political party to enable it contest in the assembly elections of the state. A vacation bench comprising Justice Sandeep Marne and Justice Manjusha Deshpande had taken up the CNP case for urgent relief.

A petition had been filed by the National Communist Party (NPC) seeking directions to the ECI to grant them a provisional registration certificate and allotment of election symbol to enable them contest elections in Maharashtra.

The petition claims that the CNP was formed in June 2024 in Mumbai with Moinuddin Chowdhari as its general secretary and intends to contest elections to various state assemblies.

The CNP claimed to have filed an application for registration with the ECI as a political party under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, in July 2024, against which it received objections from the ECI in a period of one month.

The CNP claimed to have requested the ECI to grant it a provisional certificate to enable it to contest elections in Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, within a week of receiving the letter of objection. However, the ECI did not issue the certificate, the petitions said, and the CNP missed the opportunity to contest the legislative elections in Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana. So, he decided to approach the Bombay High Court for an urgent solution in the matter, keeping an eye on the Maharashtra elections.