A PIL against political parties’ practice of offering freebies during elections is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday, March 21. This is a momentous development that occurs only weeks before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which are scheduled to begin on April 19.
This is crucial. After the petitioner’s attorney brought up the issue for an early hearing on Wednesday, a bench consisting of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra stated, “We will keep this on board tomorrow (Thursday).”
According to the news agency, the plea demanded that populist tactics used to win over voters should be completely outlawed since they are unconstitutional. Additionally, the Election Commission of India was to take appropriate preventative action.
Senior barrister Vijay Hansaria made arguments before the Supreme Court on behalf of attorney and PIL petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, arguing that the case should be heard prior to the Lok Sabha elections.
The PIL requested the supreme court to rule that the election process is tainted and voters are unfairly influenced by promises of irrational gifts from public funds prior to polls, disrupting the equal playing field.
“Petitioner submits that the recent trend of political parties to influence voters by offering freebies with an eye on elections is not only the greatest threat to the survival of democratic values but also injures the spirit of the Constitution,” the PIL said.
It went on to say that this immoral behaviour must be avoided in order to protect democratic norms and values since it is equivalent to paying bribes to voters at the expense of the public coffers in order to maintain power.
The petition also sought a direction to the poll panel to insert an additional condition in the relevant paragraphs of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, which deals with conditions for recognition as a state party, that a “political party shall not promise/distribute irrational freebies from the public fund before the election”.
The petitioner has sought the Supreme Court to rule that it is unconstitutional to promise or distribute private goods or services—that is, services that are not for the public good—from public monies prior to elections, citing Article 14 as one of the many provisions in violation.
April 19 is the start date of the seven-phase 18th Lok Sabha elections, which will conclude on June 1. On June 4, there will be a vote count.
With the release of a notification on Wednesday, the nomination procedure for 102 parliamentary constituencies located in 21 states and Union territories—where the first phase of voting will take place—began.
