Freebies against democracy but legislation against them not advisable: SC

Source: The post is based on the article “Freebies against democracy but legislation against them not advisable: SC” published in Business Standard on 12th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has said that the legislation barring political parties from offering voters freebies is not advisable and to de-register them for making such promises would be “anti-democratic”.

What are Freebies?

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What are the Supreme Court’s observations on Freebies?

The Supreme Court acknowledged the impact of freebies promised by political parties on the country’s fiscal health was a serious issue. But it was not in favour of derecognising any party over it because that would be anti-democratic.

Note: The Supreme Court had earlier proposed to set up a committee with representation from the Niti Aayog, the Finance Commission, the Election Commission, the RBI and political parties to study the freebies issue. However, the election commission said that being a constitutional authority, it cannot be part of the committee. 

What are the other options suggested by petitioners to curb Freebies?

Include Freebies in RPA: One of the petitioners referred to a previous Supreme Court judgment in 2013 which suggested that a provision can be made under the Representation of People’s Act for political parties to say in their manifestos that they will not announce freebies in elections.

– However, the lawyer from the government said that such a provision would be difficult as most freebies are not part of parties’ manifestos but are declared during rallies and speeches.

Include Freebies as a corrupt practice: The definition of ‘corrupt practice’ may be enlarged to include freebies and there should be real consequences for making such promises.