Justice C M Nayar issued notices to the EC and the RPI (Gavai faction) to file their replies to the petition by RPI (A) by August 24.

The RPI (A) faction had moved the court challenging EC's order of August four allotting the `rising sun' to RPI (G). It alleged that the EC was applying `double standards' in settling such disputes between breakaway groups of different political parties.

Counsel for the RPI (A) said in the case of Janata Dal the EC had frozen the `wheel' symbol and allotted two symbols to the rival factions but in their case the original symbol was allotted to one faction and thus putting the other group in a `disadvantageous' position.

EC counsel strongly refuted the charge stating that in the case of Janata Dal(JD) only an ad hoc arrangement had been made in view of the Lok Sabha polls as the matter was still pending before it. But in the case of RPI the EC's verdict had come at the time of final disposal of the case, he said.

RPI (A) President Ramdas Athawale had challenged the allotment of `rising sun' to the group headed by Gavai on the ground that the latter had submitted `fabricated' documents to the commission on the basis of which it took the decision.

The split in the party came after Athawale and his supporters decided to forge an alliance with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Sharad Pawar while RPI (G) decided to side with the Congress.

Athawale had claimed that his faction had the support of 27 of the 46 members of the central executive committee and it controlled 45 of the 55 district committees.

Earlier, EC's counsel said the Commission was ready to allot RPI (A) new symbol if it moved an application in this regard to which the party's counsel replied that an application has alreadybeen filed before the Commission.