SC dismisses PIL seeking to limit expenses by political parties in election campaigns

New Delhi, Dec 8 The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the Election Commission to fix the limit of expenses by the political parties in poll campaigns.

A bench, headed by CJI D.Y. Chandrachud and comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, orally observed that the plea raises issues relating to policy matters or legislative changes.

"How can we entertain a petition like this? We cannot command the Parliament to enact a law on this subject," the bench said.

It ordered: “We are not inclined to entertain the petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. The petition is accordingly dismissed.”

The plea, filed by a resident of Haryana's Sonipat, stated that despite having sufficient provisions in the law, the money spent on campaigning in elections is much beyond the prescribed limit in the statutes. It sought a direction that the Election Commission should calculate the expenses of the election from the date of nomination of candidates and must fix the limit of expenses by the political parties.

The petition also demanded that campaigning through paid newspapers, media or social media should be stopped within 48 hours of the election.

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