Karnataka’s Political Promise Saga: SC Calls Out Questionable Commitments

The Supreme Court has rebuffed the argument that the pledges put forth by a political faction in its manifesto, resulting in direct or indirect financial assistance to the populace at large, could be classified as a nefarious act by a nominee of the same faction.

A panel consisting of justices Surya Kant and K V Viswanathan expressed that the court has meticulously scrutinized the evidence presented and also listened to the advocate representing the petitioner Shashanka J. Sreedhara, at great length. “The assertion of the learned advocate that the undertakings by a political faction in its manifesto, which consequently lead to direct or indirect financial assistance to the public at large, will also constitute a corrupt practice by a nominee of that faction, is excessively imaginative and cannot be endorsed,” articulated the panel, in a decree issued on May 17. The decree was recently disseminated on the highest court’s website.

The apex court, emphasizing its reluctance to delve into such a query extensively in the current case, remarked: “In any event, given the circumstances of these cases, we need not delve into such a query extensively. The appeals are, thus, dismissed”. The panel, nevertheless, left the legal question open, to be determined in a suitable scenario.

The petitioner had approached the apex court contesting a judgment delivered by the Karnataka High Court. In April of this year, the high court had stated that a party’s declaration regarding the policies they aim to enforce is not, for the purposes of Section 123 of the Representation of Peoples Act, an illicit practice.

The petitioner, a voter from the Chamrajpet Assembly Constituency, lodged an election petition contesting the selection of candidate B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, who emerged victorious as a candidate from the Indian National Congress (INC), in the 2023 Karnataka state legislature election. The petition was dismissed by a solitary judge bench presided over by Justice M I Arun.

The petitioner asserted that Zameer Ahmed Khan enticed the voters by offering five assurances. “Through this, they have enticed the voters. Hence, it has corrupted the electorate under the Representation of the People Act. Consequently, the selection of Zameer Ahmed should be invalidated,” the petitioner had urged.

A petition by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay challenging the pledges of freebies made by political factions during the elections is already pending in the apex court.