Supreme Court seeks response from Election Commission on petition to ban ‘money power’ of political parties

Bureau Prayagraj- The Supreme Court on February 26 sought response from the Central Government and the Election Commission of India on a petition challenging uncontrolled election expenditure by political parties. A three-member bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi issued this notice on a PIL filed by NGO Common Cause. The bench said the case raises complex constitutional questions and listed it for hearing after six weeks.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, argued that the unbridled use of ‘money power’ by political parties attacks the very spirit of the democratic process. During the hearing, Justice Bagchi raised questions on the effectiveness of such regulatory measures by citing limits on election expenditure in other countries. He said, ‘There are limits on expenditure in the US too, but what about the friends of the candidates?’ He also raised further potential constitutional concerns, questioning whether imposing a spending cap might violate the right to freedom of expression and material association under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

In response, Bhushan cited the Supreme Court’s decision in the electoral bond case, saying that the court has already acknowledged the distorting effect of uncontrolled political funding on democracy. A similar petition seeking a cap on the election expenditure of political parties, which was filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, was withdrawn from the Delhi High Court in January 2024, so that a fresh petition could be filed.

The importance of the present petition has increased further after the five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court unanimously struck down the electoral bond scheme on February 15, 2024. On February 15, 2024, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court had unanimously declared the electoral bond scheme ‘unconstitutional’. The top court had ruled that the scheme violates Article 19 of the Constitution by failing to disclose funding received by political parties.

As a result, the Supreme Court also invalidated the provisions related to electoral bonds in the Companies Act, Income Tax Act and Representation of the People Act. Apart from this, the apex court had also ordered to make public the information of buyers and recipients of electoral bonds.