The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed by former political strategist Prashant Kishor’s Jan Suraaj Party, which sought the cancellation of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections over alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the polls.
The petition contended that the election, in which Jan Suraaj made its electoral debut and failed to win any of the 238 seats it contested, should be declared null and void. The party accused the Janata Dal (United)–Bharatiya Janata Party alliance of breaching the MCC.
Bench Questions Intent Of Petition
Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the plea specifically challenged the transfer of Rs 10,000 to women voters in Bihar while the Model Code of Conduct was in force.
The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, strongly criticised the party for approaching the court after its electoral defeat and advised it to move the Patna High Court, as the matter related only to one state.
“How many votes did you get? Once people reject you, you use the judicial forum to get relief! Somebody should have challenged the scheme itself then. That is not the prayer before us. You just want an omnibus direction for declaration of election of the entire state as null and void,” the Chief Justice was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
The bench observed that the plea effectively amounted to a consolidated election petition covering the entire state.
“Since it deals with only one State, please go to that high court. In some cases, there is a serious issue of freebies which we will seriously examine,” the bench said.
Arguments Made By Jan Suraaj
Senior advocate C U Singh, appearing for the Jan Suraaj Party, told the court that the scheme under which payments were made to voters was announced shortly before the elections and that funds were disbursed while the Model Code of Conduct was in place.
“But when a State has a grave fiscal deficit and it is a dole in the sense that 10,000 will be paid immediately and over 35 lakh people enrolled in this scheme just after the MCC was announced,” the senior lawyer said.
“Direct transfer schemes are different. This is about women self help groups,” the bench responded.
Election Outcome And Allegations
The Jan Suraaj Party had approached the Supreme Court seeking fresh elections after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance retained power in the 243-member Bihar Assembly by winning 202 seats. The INDIA bloc secured 35 seats.
The Jan Suraaj Party did not win any seat, and most of its candidates forfeited their security deposits.
In its petition, the party alleged that the state government violated the Model Code of Conduct by transferring Rs 10,000 to women beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana after the election schedule was announced.
