SC To Hear PIL Against Poll Freebies Promises By Political Parties

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) New Delhi- The Supreme Court on Thursday agreed to list for hearing in March a PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes“irrational freebies” before polls.

Lawyer-petitioner Ashwini Updhyaya told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the notices on his PIL were issued to the Centre and the Election Commission in 2022 itself, and urged it to list the matter soon.

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“Except Sun and Moon, everything is promised by political parties to voters during elections and this amounts to corrupt practice,” the lawyer said.

“This is an important issue. You please remind us and mention it at the end. We will list in March,” the CJI said.

On January 25, 2022, a bench headed by the then Chief Justice N V Ramana had sought replies from the Centre and the Election Commission on the PIL seeking direction to seize the symbol or deregister a political party that promises or distributes“irrational freebies” before polls.

The bench had termed it a“serious issue” and said sometimes“freebie budget is going beyond regular budget”.

The plea urged the court to declare that the promise of“irrational freebies” from public funds before elections unduly influences the voters, disturbs the level-playing field and vitiates the purity of the poll process.

The petition filed through advocate Ashwani Kumar Dubey has, as an alternative, sought a direction to the Centre to enact a law in this regard.

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