Supreme Court to Hear Plea for Legally Enforceable Political Manifestos
GS2Polity · Governance · IR· Elections, ECI & electoral reforms· Prelims + Mains·
Accountability and transparency in democratic governance: a GS2 Polity and Ethics case study.
Why in news
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking a legally enforceable, standardized format for political party election manifestos to ensure clarity for voters.
Background
The petitioner argued that manifestos are 'vision documents' and should be legally enforceable like court causelists. The plea urges the Election Commission of India (ECI) to use its plenary constitutional power to frame guidelines for manifesto liability.
Facts for Prelims
- BodyElection Commission of India (ECI) is the body urged to adopt a uniform manifesto format.
- FactThe petitioner sought the power to seize election symbols or deregister parties failing to fulfill 'essential rational' promises.
- PostThe plea was mentioned before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
Prelims practice question
Which body is urged to use its plenary constitutional power to frame guidelines and fix liability for political manifestos?
- (a)Securities and Exchange Board of India
- (b)Election Commission of India
- (c)Reserve Bank of India
- (d)NITI Aayog
Show answer
Answer: (b) Election Commission of India — The plea suggests the Election Commission of India should use its plenary constitutional power to frame guidelines and fix liability.
For Mains
Q. Discuss the necessity of making political manifestos legally enforceable to ensure accountability and transparency in the Indian electoral process.
Dimensions to cover in your answer
- Accountability gap: Lack of legal consequences for unfulfilled 'essential rational' promises in manifestos.
- Regulatory autonomy: Balancing the ECI's plenary powers with the freedom of political parties to frame their own vision documents.
- Voter information: Standardizing layouts to reduce ambiguity and improve the clarity of party intentions.
Keywords: Accountability · Transparency · Election Commission · Manifesto · Plenary Power · Statutory Liability
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This note is generated automatically from SatyaDheesh's news feed and mapped to the UPSC CSE syllabus. Check facts against the original report or PIB before using them in an answer.