Supreme Court Seeks Centre and Election Commission's Response on Plea Against Political Parties Promising Freebies

The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and the Election Commission regarding a new petition challenging the practice of political parties offering freebies during elections. A bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, issued notices to the Union of India and the electoral body in response to a petition submitted by Bengaluru resident Shashank J. Sreedhara.

The petition, filed by advocate Srinivasan, also requests that the Election Commission be directed to take effective measures to prevent political parties from making promises of freebies during the pre-election period.

"The unregulated promise of freebies 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 plea said.

The top court tagged the matter with other pleas on similar issue. The Supreme Court had previously agreed to schedule a hearing for petitions challenging the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections. This decision came after senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, representing lawyer and PIL petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, requested an urgent hearing on the issue.

The petition also urges the court to declare that promises of irrational freebies funded by public money prior to elections unduly influence voters, disrupt the level playing field, and undermine the integrity of the electoral process.

Petitioner submits 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, the plea said.