Party's Promise of Policies Can't Be Considered Corrupt Practise: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court stated that voters must be informed of the possibilities that the promises made by the Congress party would be fulfilled, and that there should be discussion held on whether or not these actions will appeal to a certain segment of society.

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court stated that a party's announcement regarding the policy they hope to implement is not, for the purposes of Section 123 of the Representation of Peoples Act, a corrupt practice.

A voter from the Chamrajpet Assembly Constituency, Shashanka J Sreedhara, filed an election petition challenging the selection of candidate B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan, in the 2023 Karnataka State Legislature elections. The petition was dismissed by a single judge bench led by Justice M I Arun.

"Also, there needs to be a debate on whether the promises and free gifts given by the Congress party will woo a section of the society. Voters should be aware of the possibilities of fulfillment of such promises. People also decide whether to vote for a particular party or not. cannot be considered as a corrupt practice for the purpose of Section 123 of the RP Act", the bench said in its order.

Referring to the Supreme court judgment in the case of S Subramaniam Balaji Vs Government of Tamil Nadu, (2013), the bench said, "The five guarantees given by the Indian National Congress are principles of social welfare. Whether they are economically viable or not is another matter."

It also added that the opposition has to prove that implementation of those schemes will bankrupt the state government's exchequer following which those plans or policies can be defined as wrong. However, it cannot be said that they lead to corruption," the bench added.

"During the hearing of the petition, the petitioner has not submitted any evidence to prove that the respondent personally lured the voters. He only mentioned the elements of the Congress party manifesto. On this basis, the respondent's choice cannot be annulled," the court said.

The petitioner specified that Zameer Ahmed Khan has wooed the voters by offering five guarantees. "By that they have lured the voters. So, it has corrupted the electorate under the Representation of the People Act. Therefore, the selection of Zameer Ahmed should be annulled," the petitioner had requested.