New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that free facilities and social welfare schemes are two different things and the economy needs to strike a balance between loss of money and welfare measures.
The Supreme Court also ruled out the possibility of considering a petition seeking de-recognition of political parties for promising free facilities.
A bench of Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Krishna Murari asked various parties to give suggestions on the issue before August 17, saying the idea of de-recognition of parties which had promised irrational freebies during elections was “undemocratic”. “They do not want to get into the controversy over de-recognition of political parties etc as it is an undemocratic idea.
“They do not want to get into the controversy over de-recognition of political parties etc as it is an undemocratic idea. After all, there is democracy in our country.”
He said the promise of irrational freebies during the election process was a serious issue but he would not interfere in the functioning of the legislature even if the legislative position was not clear on the issue. ‘
“You may call me a non-willed or conservative, but I don’t want to interfere in the jurisdiction of the legislature. I am a fundamentalist. This is a serious issue. This is not an easy thing. We will listen to others as well. The CJI, who is set to retire from office on August 26, said some suggestions have been made by the senior lawyers and he also asked other parties to give their suggestions before their retirement and posted the matter for hearing on August 17.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, said that recently some political parties have made distribution of free facilities an art form.
“Elections are fought on this basis. It is unfortunate that some parties in the country think that distributing goods free of cost is the only way for the welfare of the society. This understanding is completely unscientific and will lead to a serious economic crisis. “