The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenges the practice of political parties promising or distributing “irrational freebies” before elections. The court said the matter will be listed for hearing in March.
The PIL was filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyaya. He has asked the court to direct that political parties be punished if they promise or distribute freebies using public money without a clear public purpose. His plea seeks strict action, including seizing a party’s election symbol or even cancelling its registration.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the request to list the case. During the hearing, the petitioner said political parties promise almost everything to voters during elections, calling it a corrupt practice. The Chief Justice described the issue as serious and agreed to take it up soon.
This case is not new. In January 2022, the Supreme Court had already issued notices to the Centre and the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking them to respond to the plea. At that time, the court had observed that in some cases, spending on freebies was becoming larger than the regular government budget.
The petition argues that offering free goods or services just before elections unfairly influences voters. It says such promises disturb the level playing field and damage the fairness of the electoral process. According to the plea, this trend is a major threat to democratic values and goes against the spirit of the Constitution.
As an alternative, the petitioner has asked the Centre to make a law to control such election promises. He has also requested the Election Commission to add a new condition in the Election Symbols Order, stating that parties should not promise or distribute irrational freebies from public funds.
The PIL further asks the court to declare that giving private goods or services, which do not serve a public purpose, violates several constitutional provisions. These include Article 14, which guarantees equality before the law, and other articles related to the use of public funds.
The Supreme Court will now examine whether such election promises harm free and fair elections and whether stronger rules are needed to protect democracy.
