Delhi Elections: Plea in High Court against freebies by political parties

Delhi Elections: Plea in High Court against freebies by political parties

Published on: 03 Feb 2025, 12:11 pm2 min read

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The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to urgently hear a petition challenging promises made by political parties to distribute cash to voters ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.

The present plea has been filed by retired Justice SN Dhingra. He argued that these activities not only violate electoral laws, but also infringe upon the fundamental rights of voters and severely hinder the free and fair conduct of the election.

A Bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela refused to list the plea urgently.

The plea also urged for the establishment of monitoring mechanisms to ensure a free and fair election in Delhi.

It further highlighted that political parties including Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Indian National Congress (INC) have been allocated office spaces in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies, as well as land for their party offices in the National Capital at a nominal price by the Central government.

The plea referred to AAP's “Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana,” BJP's “Mahila Samridhi Yojna,” and Congress' “Pyari Didi Yojna,” through which the parties have promised cash benefits to voters if they come to power.

It is argued that these actions violate provisions under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, specifically Section 123(1) (Corrupt Practices), Section 127A (Unauthorized Election Materials), and Section 170 & 171 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Offences of Bribery and Undue Influence During Elections).

It is also claimed that through these schemes, the parties are collecting personal and electoral data of voters without their explicit consent, in violation of their right to privacy.

The petition emphasised that the role of political parties in the democratic setup and the duties they perform reflect their public character.

"...Therefore, even if political parties do not fall under the realm of “State,” they cannot escape judicial scrutiny and may be subject to judicial review and writ jurisdiction of the Indian Courts," the plea added.

The petition has been filed through Advocates Amit Grover, Siddhartha Borgohain and Harshvardhan Sharma.