NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition challenging the distribution of cash incentives promised by political parties ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. The court cited a similar case pending before the Supreme Court and declined to intervene at this stage.
The petition was submitted by retired Delhi High Court judge, Justice SN Dhingra, who contended that such pre-election pledges not only violate electoral laws but also undermine voters’ fundamental rights, jeopardising the fairness of the electoral process.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that since the Supreme Court is already hearing a related matter regarding the legality of election freebies, a parallel proceeding in the High Court would not be appropriate.
“Since the Supreme Court is already considering whether offering freebies constitutes corrupt practices, you may approach the apex court and become a party to that case. We cannot entertain this petition at this stage,” the bench remarked.
Following this observation, the court allowed the petitioner to withdraw the plea while granting him the liberty to approach either the Supreme Court or the High Court at a later stage if required. The petition urged the implementation of monitoring mechanisms to ensure transparency and fairness in the election process.
It specifically cited schemes proposed by major political parties, including AAP’s “Mukhyamantri Mahila Samman Yojana,” BJP’s “Mahila Samridhi Yojna,” and Congress’ “Pyari Didi Yojna,” under which monetary benefits have been promised to voters if the respective parties come to power.
The plea argued that these promises contravene provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, particularly Section 123(1) (corrupt practices), Section 127A (unauthorized election materials), along with Sections 170 and 171 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which deal with bribery and undue influence in elections.
The petition also claimed that political parties are collecting voters’ personal and electoral data through these schemes without obtaining explicit consent, thereby violating their right to privacy.