Supreme Court Takes a Stand: Freebies in Elections Could Be Classified as Bribes!

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 15) issued a notice to the Centre and the Election Commission of India regarding a plea that seeks to classify promises of freebies made by political parties during election campaigns as bribes.

The court has combined this petition with other pending cases. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra directed the Union of India and the Election Commission to respond to the petition filed by Bengaluru resident Shashank J. Sreedhara.

The plea calls for the Election Commission to take immediate and effective measures to prohibit political parties from offering freebies in the lead-up to elections. It argues that the unregulated promise of such freebies places a significant and unaccounted financial burden on the public exchequer and highlights the lack of mechanisms to ensure that pre-election promises are fulfilled.

Previously, the Supreme Court had agreed to hear petitions challenging the practice of political parties offering freebies during elections, following a request from senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, who represented PIL petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay. Upadhyay’s plea advocates for a total ban on populist measures aimed at securing undue political favor from voters, arguing that these practices violate the Constitution and calling for appropriate deterrent actions from the Election Commission.

The petition also asserts that promises of irrational freebies from public funds unduly influence voters, disrupt the level playing field, and compromise the integrity of the electoral process.