Supreme Court closes 15-year-old PIL against Mayawati over statue expenditure

New Delhi: In a significant relief for Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, the Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a 2009 public interest litigation (PIL) that challenged the alleged misuse of public funds for erecting statues of Mayawati and the BSP’s election symbol, the elephant, in public spaces across Uttar Pradesh during her tenure as chief minister.

The court’s decision coincided with Mayawati’s 69th birthday.

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma observed that the petition had become irrelevant due to the passage of time and developments such as the Election Commission of India (ECI) issuing directives against the misuse of public funds for political purposes.

The court also noted that removing the statues would require additional public expenditure, which would not serve the public interest.

“Destruction of these structures would require additional public money. You want them to be razed, but that would not serve the public interest,” the bench remarked while addressing the petitioners, advocates Ravi Kant and Sukumar.

The PIL accused Mayawati of spending over Rs 1,000 crore of taxpayer money to glorify herself and her party by installing statues in public parks, including those in Noida and Lucknow.

It sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, removal of the statues, and punitive measures against the BSP, including freezing its election symbol.

The court acknowledged ECI’s 2016 directive that prohibited political parties from using public funds or government resources for activities promoting their symbols or campaigns. ECI’s counsel emphasized that such violations invite action under the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1986.

The controversy had earlier intensified in 2012 when ECI ordered the covering of Mayawati’s statues and the elephant symbol ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections to ensure fairness.

The matter resurfaced in 2019 when the Supreme Court suggested that Mayawati reimburse the funds spent on the statues.

In her defense, Mayawati maintained that the installations were approved by the state legislature to honor the values of social reformers and leaders, rather than for self-promotion.

The Court finally ended a decade-long debate over the use of public funds for political promotion, putting to rest the controversy surrounding Mayawati’s statues and their implications.