'Very Important': Supreme Court On PIL Against Freebies Promised By Political Parties In Elections

The top court while hearing a mentioning of the petition said that the same would not be deleted from its list of businesses.

PIL seeks a total ban on populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution

Source : PTI

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that the petitions filed against the issue of political parties promising freebies during elections is very important and needs extensive hearing. The top court while hearing a mentioning of the petition said that the same would not be deleted from its list of businesses.

The plea against the freebies being promised was mentioned in front of a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra. The petitioner, Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay mentioned in the court that the pleas were already there in the list of business for the day and they needed to be heard.

However, since the bench headed by CJI Chandrachud was hearing another part-heard matter, the case of freebies was quite unlikely to be taken up during the day for the hearing, Upadhyay told the court.

While mentioning the PIL, Upadhyay urged the court that the pleas be kept on board so they can be heard at a later date. At this point the Chief Justice said that the matter is very important and will not be deleted.

The PIL in question seeks a direction from the top court to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to freeze election symbols and cancel the registration of such political parties who promise freebies during elections.

Upadhyay seeks a total ban on populist measures to gain undue political favour from voters as they violate the Constitution, and says that the EC should take suitable deterrent measures.

The PIL by Upadhyay submits that political parties offering freebies to influence voters is not only the greatest threat to the survival of democratic values but also injures the spirit of the Constitution.

The PIL calls promising freebies during election an unethical practice, which is just like giving bribes to the electorate at the cost of the exchequer to stay in power.