New Delhi [India], February 12 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by retired judge Justice SN Dhingra, challenging the cash-oriented schemes announced by political parties during the Delhi Assembly elections.
The bench of Justice Devender Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela noted that the Supreme Court is already examining similar issues related to political parties' announcements of freebies during election time.
Therefore, it would not be appropriate to have parallel hearings in both courts, said the bench. However, the Court granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the Supreme Court to address his grievances in the said matter.
Retired Justice SN Dhingra has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, claiming that the cash-oriented schemes announced by political parties ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections are unconstitutional, undermine the spirit of free and fair elections, and constitute election manipulation.
The petitioner stated that such schemes could influence voters unfairly and may undermine the democratic process.
Public Interest Litigation (PIL) also sought direction from the Election Commission of India to instruct the BJP, Indian National Congress (INC), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to immediately cease and desist from collecting personal and electoral data of voters under false pretences. The petition also calls for an order to prevent these parties from sharing or using the collected data with any third party.
The plea, moved through Advocates Amit Grover, Siddhartha Borgohain, and Harshvardhan Sharma, alleges corrupt practices and illegal activities by said Political Parties in connection with the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections.
It contended that these activities not only violate electoral laws but also infringe upon the fundamental rights of voters, including their right to privacy under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, thereby severely undermining the free and fair conduct of the election.
The plea also pointed out that Political parties have been allotted offices in Parliament and State Legislative Assemblies and land for the party office in the National Capital at a very nominal price by the Central Government, along with the role they play in the democratic setup and the nature of duties performed by them, indicate their public character.
Political parties are effective intermediaries that link social forces and ideologies to governmental institutions, acting as a connecting link between the government and public opinion. Thus, due to their specific functions, political parties in India can be considered an instrumentality or agency of the Government and fall under the ambit of "State" as defined under Article 12 of the Constitution of India, plea read.