Supreme Court agrees to hear fresh plea opposing freebies offered during polls

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea seeking a declaration that the promise of freebies, in the shape of cash or other forms of subsidy or concessions, made by political parties during the run-up to Assembly or General elections constitutes a corrupt practice under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

The petition was filed by advocate Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay. It was tagged with an earlier previous similar petition filed by Bengaluru-based activist B Lakshmidevi and may come up for hearing in November.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra had on September 13, 2024 issued notice to the Union government and the Election Commission on B Lakshmidevi’s plea seeking a declaration that the promise of freebies, particularly in the form of cash, made by political parties during the run-up to Assembly or General elections, constitutes a corrupt practice as the freebies would be funded from the public exchequer if their party forms the government.

“The guarantees of gratification promised in the manifesto by a political party are inducement to bribery and directly attributable to the candidates," the petition said.

Upadhyay in his plea filed on Wednesday said that lack of transparency regarding the financial implications of such promises undermines the integrity of elections and leads to widespread voter manipulation.