The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on 24 September 2026 a plea filed by All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) interim order freezing the party's name and its reserved 'Flowers and Grass' election symbol, amid an escalating factional dispute within the party.

How the Case Is Listed

According to the Cause List published on the Supreme Court's official website, a Bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice V. Mohana will take up the matter. The case is listed at serial number 26 before the CJI-led Bench as a fresh civil case for admission. Named as respondents are the Election Commission of India, its Secretary, and rebel leader Ritabrata Banerjee.

What the ECI Order Said

The poll panel passed an interim order barring both rival factions from using the established party name and symbol, citing competing claims to recognition as the original political party. The ECI stated that the dispute required a substantive determination under Paragraph 15 of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, and directed both groups to submit alternative names and symbols for the upcoming by-elections.

Pending that final determination, the ECI allotted the Mamata Banerjee-led faction the name 'Mamata All India Trinamool Congress' and the 'football player' symbol, while the Ritabrata Banerjee-led faction was given the name 'Democratic Trinamool Congress' and the 'envelope' symbol. The interim arrangement covers the 6 October by-elections in West Bengal for the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly constituencies.

The Urgent Listing Request

On Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mamata Banerjee, sought urgent listing of the plea before CJI Surya Kant, arguing that the ECI had frozen the symbol in the middle of a by-poll notification. 'They issue a by-poll notification and in the middle of the notification, they freeze the symbol. We want urgent listing,' Sibal submitted.

CJI Surya Kant acknowledged that both sides would have submissions to make. 'Both sides will have something to say. When the matter is listed, then argue. We will try to list,' he said, assuring that the matter would be considered for scheduling.

The Broader Factional Dispute

The conflict over the TMC's organisational control extends beyond the ECI proceeding. Notably, 20 rebel TMC Lok Sabha MPs had broken away and aligned with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI), claiming recognition as a separate parliamentary group. The Mamata Banerjee-led faction has challenged the delay by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in deciding disqualification petitions against the rebel MPs under the anti-defection law, maintaining that the MPs were elected on its symbol and that joining another party attracts anti-defection provisions. The rebel faction, however, claims the support of more than two-thirds of the TMC's Lok Sabha MPs and seeks recognition as a distinct parliamentary group.

This is a multi-front battle — simultaneously before the ECI, the Supreme Court, and the Lok Sabha Speaker — making the 24 September hearing a critical early marker in determining which faction holds legitimate claim to the party's identity.