Supreme Court Seeks Cap on Election Expenditure by Parties

The Supreme Court has called for responses from the Centre and Election Commission regarding a plea that seeks to impose a spending limit on political parties during elections, addressing disparities with individual candidates' expenditure caps, a move crucial for maintaining electoral fairness and equality under the Constitution.

The Supreme Court on Thursday requested responses from the Centre and the Election Commission concerning a plea that aims to set a spending limit on political parties during elections. The plea, filed by the NGOs Common Cause and the Centre for Public Interest Litigation, highlights the disparity created by the current expenditure regulations.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, has set April 27 as the returnable date for the notice issued to the Centre and poll authority. The plea argues that the lack of expenditure limits for political parties, while individual candidates are restricted, violates the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, emphasized that unchecked spending by political parties undermines electoral fairness, a cornerstone of India's constitutional democracy. The plea also calls for the declaration of certain explanations in the Representation of the People Act, 1951, as unconstitutional, urging for a corruption-free electoral system.

(With inputs from agencies.)