Supreme Court Refuses To Entertain BJP Candidates' Plea Accusing Congress Of Distributing Gift Cards In Karnataka Elections

Although a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and JB Pardiwala dismissed the petition, the local politicians – Gautham Gowda M and Prasad KR – were permitted to approach the high court with the same prayer. During today's hearing, Justice Chandrachud asked the counsel appearing for the petitioners, "What can we do, Ma'am? You claim money is being distributed in an election. Do you expect us to now go there and investigate? There are already enough laws and guidelines on this subject. You can go to the high court. The high courts have sufficient powers to deal with issues within their own jurisdictions."

Ultimately, the bench pronounced - 

"We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The petition is dismissed. However, the petitioners would be at liberty to pursue appropriate remedies available."

In their petition, the duo alleged election violations and corrupt practices across as many as 42 constituencies, including the ones they contested in, during the Karnataka assembly elections, which were held in May this year. The allegations centre around purported acts by leaders of the now-ruling Indian National Congress (INC) party and their agents, one day before Karnataka went to the polls. The petitioners claimed that plastic gift cards were distributed on behalf of Congress, with a false promise that voters could encash a certain amount if the contesting Congress candidate won the election. The barcodes, the petitioners further alleged, turned out to be fake, rendering the gift cards worthless.

Alleging that no action had been taken by the election commission despite multiple complaints being filed by one of the petitioners, as well as others, Gowda and Prasad urged the apex court to issue directions to the election commission to promptly establish guidelines in addition to the existing model code of conduct, besides incorporating ‘corrective measures’ to prevent corrupt practices and ensure that the ‘Karnataka model’ is not replicated in other states, and formulating guidelines through which the Election Commission can assist other authorities in applying relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and the Representation of People Act, and the Constitution to penalise those involved in corrupt practices.

The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Lakshmy Iyengar, assisted by Advocate-on-Record Divya Swami.

Case Details

Gautham Gowda M & Anr. v. Union of India & Anr. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 882 of 2023

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