New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 15) sought a response of the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a fresh plea seeking to restrain political parties promising freebies during elections.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra issued notices to the Centre and the ECI on a plea filed by a Bengaluru resident seeking a direction to the ECI to take effective steps to restrain political parties from making promises of freebies during the pre-election period.
What did the petitioner submit?
The petitioner has submitted that the unregulated promise of freebies by the political parties imposes a significant and unaccounted financial burden on the public exchequer. “Further, there exists no mechanism to ensure the fulfilment of pre-poll promises on which votes were secured,” the petitioner said.
Apex court tagged plea with pending petitions on similar issue
The bench also tagged the fresh plea with pending petitions on the similar issue.
The Supreme Court had earlier agreed to list a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who sought urgent hearing of the matter, seeking a total ban on the practice of promise of freebies during elections.
Plea by Ashwini Upadhyay seeks a total ban on practice of freebies by political parties
Upadhyay, while seeking a total ban on the practice of freebies by political parties, has sought suitable deterrent measures by the ECI, submitting that the promise of irrational freebies from public funds before elections from political parties unduly influences the voters, disturbs the level playing field and vitiates the purity of the poll process.
The plea has further said that “the recent trend of political parties to influence voters by offering freebies with an eye on elections is not only the greatest threat to the survival of democratic values but also injures the spirit of the Constitution” and “this unethical practice is just like giving bribes to the electorate at the cost of the exchequer to stay in power and must be avoided to preserve democratic principles and practices.”
