Overview

• On July 21, the Supreme Court refused to examine a PIL filed by petitioner-in-person Sanjay Bhimashankar Thobde that challenged political party flags bearing national tricolour elements.
• Thobde alleged that Congress, the Nationalist Congress Party and its Sharad Pawar faction violated the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act by replacing the Ashoka Chakra with party symbols.
• The three-judge bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai declined the plea on the grounds that the practice predates Independence and did not raise a novel legal issue.
• The ruling underscores the court’s reluctance to intervene in longstanding political practices without clear statutory breaches.
• The dismissal leaves intact the current practice of incorporating tricolour motifs in political campaign flags.