The Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the ongoing intra-party dispute case between Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S. Ramadoss and his estranged son R. Anbumani over the “mango” election symbol, directing the parties to pursue their remedy before the civil court.

The dispute has already been the subject of proceedings before the Madras High Court, which held that such internal disputes must be resolved through civil proceedings. During the hearing, the Supreme Court made it clear that disputes concerning rival factions within an unrecognised political party cannot be adjudicated either by the Court in writ jurisdiction or by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Instead, such issues fall squarely within the domain of civil courts.

“The dispute… among the two rival groups of an unrecognised political party cannot be decided by the Election Commission of India.”

At the same time, the Bench emphasised that parties would not be left without remedy and noted that a civil suit had already been filed. Taking note of the urgency due to the election timeline, the Court directed that if an application is moved before the civil court, it should be decided expeditiously. “If such an application is filed… the civil court to decide within three days.”

The Court declined to issue any directions either to freeze the symbol or to compel the ECI to take a decision at this stage. It also clarified that it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the dispute. In a lighter moment during the hearing, the CJI remarked on the intensity of the contest:

“Our only worry is that this mango has become too juicy.”