Supreme Court’s decision on free schemes: hearing on free promises will now be held in a new bench; CJI said – serious consideration is needed on this

The hearing on free schemes in the elections was held in the Supreme Court on Friday, in which there has been a demand to stop the free election promises. After the hearing, Chief Justice NV Ramana referred the matter to a new bench. During the hearing, he said that a committee can be formed, but will the committee be able to decide its definition properly.

CJI Ramana said that there is a need for detailed hearing in this case and it should be taken seriously. At the same time, after delivering the verdict, the CJI thanked the petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, to which Upadhyay said that we will miss you. The new bench will have 3 judges including the next Chief Justice and will hear further.

First know what happened in the hearing so far…
The freebies case is being heard by a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of India NV Ramana Justice JK Maheshwari and Justice Hima Kohli. Let us know step by step what has happened so far in the hearing of this case…

03 August 2022: The Supreme Court said that a committee should be constituted to decide on the freebies issue. This includes Central, State Governments, NITI Aayog, Finance Commission, Election Commission, RBI, CAG and political parties.

11 August 2022: The Supreme Court said, “There is a need to feed the poor, but there is a need to balance the welfare of the people, as the economy is losing money due to freebies.” We agree that there is a difference between freebies and welfare.

17 August 2022: The court said, “Some people say that political parties cannot be stopped from making promises to the voters… Now it has to be decided what freebies are.” Can healthcare for all, access to drinking water… schemes like MGNREGA, which make life better, be considered freebies?’ The court asked all the parties in the matter to give their views.

23 August 2022: The Supreme Court heard the matter and asked the Center why don’t you call an all-party meeting? Because the political parties have to decide everything on this.

The commission had said – you decide the definition of free schemes
During the hearing in the Supreme Court on August 11, the Election Commission said that it is not within the power of the Election Commission to regulate the policy adopted by the parties on freebies. It is the policy decision of political parties to promise freebies before elections or to give them after elections.

Taking any action without making rules in this regard would be an abuse of the powers of the Election Commission. Let the court decide what is free scheme and what is not. After that we will implement it.

What is said in the petition?
BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay has filed a public interest litigation. It has demanded that the recognition of the parties which have promised to distribute gifts and facilities free of cost in the elections should be derecognised. The court had invited Kapil Sibal on behalf of the court to make the petition and suggestion.