SC asks govt to curb election freebies; calls it a ‘very serious issue’

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana called the culture of promising freebies during elections “a very serious issue” and asked the central government to take a stand on curbing the situation. This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the same and called it “revari culture”. 

The apex court was hearing a plea that sought to direct the Election Commission of India to not permit parties to promise or distribute irrational freebies from public funds. The lawyer appearing for the ECI informed the court that rules relating to freebies and poll promises have been incorporated in the Model Code of Conduct, but any law to ban or penalise the practice would have to be made by the government. 

"There are Supreme Court judgements that say poll manifesto is not a promise," submitted the ECI lawyer. Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj also said that the issue would have to "be considered by the ECI". 

"Why don't you put it in writing that we have no authority – let ECI take a call. I am asking whether the Government of India believes this is a serious issue. You take a stand, then we will decide if freebies can be continued or not," the CJI asked the ASG. 

CJI NV Ramana also asked Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who was sitting in court for a different matter, for his opinion. Sibal suggested that the Finance Commission must look into the matter. "We cannot expect the government to take a call because there are political issues involved," said Sibal. 

Sibal said that when the Finance Commission makes its allocation for each state, it can take into account the debt of each state to see whether the economy will be stable. 

The bench of CJI NV Ramana, Justice Krishna Murari and Justice Hima Kohli has now asked the ASG to get instructions from the Central government on whether the Finance Commission can suggest any steps on the matter. 

During the hearing, Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay, who is the petitioner in the PIL, informed the court that all Indian states combined have a debt of "over Rs 70 lakh crore."

"When I filed this petition, the state of Punjab was under debt of Rs 3 lakh crore. The entire population of Punjab is 3 crore. This means that every citizen has a debt amounting to crores! All states are under more than Rs 70 lakh crore debt. Karnataka has over Rs 6 lakh crore," said Upadhyay, who has sought court orders to ban distribution of freebies by governments as part of election promises. 

He likened the situation to that of Sri Lanka and said that if freebies are promised in the same way, the Indian economy will collapse.

 

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