The Election Commission on Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it had received “grave and highly sensitive” inputs against the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), and that registering the outfit as a political party could adversely affect the country’s sovereignty and integrity.The poll panel said that while the registration plea was under consideration, it received inputs in July alleging that the outfit was “rooted in separatism”, had been founded by individuals detained under the National Security Act (NSA), and raised grave concerns about its allegiance to India’s sovereignty, unity and integrity.The EC said though the Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) gave a positive verification report about the organisation on April 27, the objection about the outfit’s “separatist roots” was received on July 9, and the CEO was then instructed to conduct a “comprehensive background inquiry” and furnish a detailed report.The report of the inquiry was yet to be received, the EC said. The submissions were made by the EC in two separate affidavits filed before Justice Saurabh Banerjee, who has now listed the matter for consideration on January 11, 2027.The affidavits were filed by the EC in response to a petition by the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) seeking to direct the poll body to decide the January 22, 2025, application of the party in a time-bound manner with an outer limit of one week.The outfit has sought approval of its proposed name, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), and registration as a political party. Waris Punjab De was founded by late Deep Sidhu and later headed by jailed Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. In January 2025, Amritpal’s father along with Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa had announced the formation of a new political party, Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De). The next Assembly elections in Punjab are due in February 2027.The EC said it had issued a deficiency letter in September last year, granting the petitioner 30 days to cure the defects. It said the rectified documents were submitted in January this year, causing an inordinate delay of over four months.The poll panel said when it issued reminders to the Punjab CEO to expedite the field verification reports, the latter submitted a positive verification report in April, which was under active consideration. It said the commission could not be compelled by a writ petition to bypass the inquiry.“Registering an organisation without concluding inquiries into its commitment to the sovereignty and integrity of India would directly frustrate the legislative intent embodied in Section 29A(5) and Section 29A(7) of the RP Act,” the EC said.The poll body informed that the party’s contention regarding potential deprivation of a common election symbol for the Punjab Assembly elections was legally untenable. It said the process under Section 29A was not a perfunctory ministerial formality and that it could not be compelled by a writ of mandamus to bypass the inquiry being conducted. The EC termed the petition devoid of merit, raising no substantial question of law.