EC concerned over increasing use of money power in elections, Supreme Court told

To bring credibility to elections and the democratic process, the PIL demanded a comprehensive action plan by EC to curb excess election expenditure with stringent provisions against erring candidates and political parties.

The Election Commission (EC) has told the Supreme Court that it is “seriously concerned” about the increasing use of money power in elections and has put in place a mechanism to curb this menace.

The matter was heard by a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi on Tuesday. (ANI)

In an affidavit filed earlier this week, the election watchdog said: “The EC is seriously concerned about the increasing use of money power in elections.” The affidavit was filed in response to a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a comprehensive action plan to arrest the trend of excess spending by candidates during elections.

To curb this menace, it added, “EC has effectively… enforced the Election Expenditure Monitoring Mechanism in the elections since the general elections to the Bihar assembly in 2010.”

The response was submitted in a PIL proceeding filed by IIT graduate Prabhakar Deshpande, who quoted a 2019 report released by an independent Delhi-based think tank, Centre for Media Studies, to suggest that the spending by election candidates was in excess to the prescribed limits set under law.

To bring credibility to elections and the democratic process, the PIL demanded a comprehensive action plan by EC to curb excess election expenditure with stringent provisions against erring candidates and political parties.

“Such a mechanism already exists... In order to keep the election expenditure within the statutory limit prescribed under Rule 90 of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961 and also to curb excess expenditure/unaccounted expenditure, the Election Commission has introduced a robust mechanism for election expenditure monitoring during elections,” the EC affidavit filed through advocate Amit Sharma said.

The commission also took exception to the petitioner relying on a think tank’s report to seek relief. It sought the dismissal of the PIL for making “vague and half-baked prayers”.

The matter was heard by a bench of justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela M Trivedi on Tuesday. The bench adjourned the case by four weeks to enable the petitioner to file his response. The top court had issued notice to EC in September last year in the matter.