Are there any rules regarding carrying the election symbols inside the polling stations?

Background

The appellant wanted to know under what rules the Election Commission of India allowed people to take certain election symbols (such as the hand and the glasses) inside the polling stations while preventing the carrying of some other symbols into such polling stations by others. The Public Information Officer (PIO) provided the extract of section 130 of the representation of the People Act 1951 and denied other details stating that the appellant was seeking an opinion of the PIO. The appellant argued that some of the symbols of political parties represented objects of common use which could be easily carried into a polling station and the authorities did not object to that, while, on the other hand, some others were debarred from carrying any such objects on the ground that they represented the symbols of some other political parties. The respondents clarified the relevant provision of the law prohibited any form of canvassing for votes inside the polling station and there was no prohibition against the presence of certain objects of common and regular usage inside the polling station just because those also happened to be the symbols of certain political parties.

View of CIC

The Central Information Commission (CIC) rejected the appeal stating that if the appellant has any objection in this regard, he should take it up with the Election Commission of India or any appropriate court of law and that there is no remedy for this under the RTI Act.

Citation: Shri Mukesh Chohan v. Election Commission of India in File No.CIC/WB/A/2010/000664SM