Here's what the Karnataka High Court held on Congress election manifesto promises

The Karnataka High Court recently said that the promises made by Congress party in its election manifesto during the 2023 Assembly Elections may be a case of wrong policy but cannot be termed as 'corrupt practice' under the Representation of People Act of 1951 [Sri. Shashanka J Sreedhara vs Sri B.Z. Zameer Ahmed Khan].Justice MI Arun made the observation while rejecting a petition challenging the election of Congress MLA BZ Zameer Ahmed Khan from Chamrajpet Assembly Constituency.“The five guarantees of the Indian National Congress have to be considered as social welfare policies. Whether they are financially viable or not is altogether a different aspect. It is for the other parties to show as to how implementation of the said schemes amounts to bankruptcy of the State Treasury and it can only lead to malgovernance of the State. It is possible that they can be termed as wrong policies under the given facts and circumstances of the case, but cannot be termed as corrupt practices,” said the Court..The petitioner Shahshanka J Sreedhara, a voter in the constituency, had argued that promises made by the Indian National Congress in its manifesto amounted to corrupt practice and thus election of the winning candidate must be set aside. The five promises made by the Congress in its manifesto included free 200 units electricity, payment of ₹2,000 to every woman head of family, supply of 10 KGs of food grain to BPL family members, stipend to unemployed educated youth and free travel for women in State buses. .The Court at the outset looked at Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act which defines election-related corrupt practices.It concluded that a practice is considered as a corrupt practice only when the same is done by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of the candidate or his agent, and not otherwise.“A declaration by a party as to the policy that they intend to bring about cannot be considered as a corrupt practice,” the Court said..It added that whether the policy is sound or has the effect of doling out freebies or appeasing a section of the society to the detriment of others is a matter of debate and for voters to consider.“The same cannot be considered as a corrupt practice for the purpose of Section 123 of the RP Act,” the Court found..Considering that Khan’s election had been challenged only on the ground that Congress manifesto amounted to corrupt practices, the Court said the petition against him did not disclose ant cause of action.It thus rejected the same. .Senior Counsel Pramila Nesargi with Advocates Sunil MV, Priyanka G and G Devarajegowda represented the petitioner.Advocates Sriyuths Shaik Ismail Zabiulla, Gokul Kumar SO Chandra L, Vijay Kumar YH and Mohamed Rizwan Ahamed represented the respondent.[Read Judgment]