India News | No Penal Provision to Make Political Parties Liable for Non-fulfilment of Promises: HC
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. The Allahabad High Court has observed that there is no penal provision to hold political parties accountable if they fail to fulfil promises made in their election manifestoes.
Allahabad, Mar 17 (PTI) The Allahabad High Court has observed that there is no penal provision to hold political parties accountable if they fail to fulfil promises made in their election manifestoes.
The court clarified that a political party as a whole can't be made liable under the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 for adopting corrupt practices of the election.
Also Read | Mod Narayan Singh, JD-U Leader, Assaulted for Molesting Woman in Bihar's Rohtas.
Justice Dinesh Pathak observed it on March 2 while hearing a petition filed by Khurshidurehman S Rehman, who had sought the registration of a criminal case, contending that the BJP "failed" to fulfil the promises made in the 2014 General Election.
The court said, "The election manifesto promulgated by any political party is a statement of their policy, view, promises and vow during the elections, which is not the binding force and the same cannot be implemented through the courts of law."
Also Read | Holi 2022: Madhya Pradesh's Bandhavgarh National Park To Be Closed for Tourists Tomorrow.
"Even there is no penal provision under any statute to bring the political parties within the clutches of enforcement authorities in case they fail to fulfil their promises as made in the election manifesto," the court observed in its judgment.
Earlier, lower courts had rejected the petition, after which the petitioner approached the High Court.
The court said, "After perusal of the judgment passed by the courts below, it cannot be said that they have decided the matter in a cursory manner without applying their judicial mind. Non-occurrence of any cognizable offence is also one of the paramount conditions which averted the courts below from issuing a direction for investigation in exercise of powers under Sections 156 (3) CrPC."
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)