The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to examine the possibility of developing a concrete framework to address the problem of excessive election spending. The direction came during the hearing of a public interest petition raising concerns about the widening gap between legally permitted expenditure limits and the actual amounts reportedly spent by candidates during elections.
The petitioner argued that in several parliamentary constituencies, campaign spending allegedly far exceeds the prescribed ceiling, sometimes by an alarming margin. Such disproportionate expenditure, it was contended, undermines electoral fairness and gives financially stronger candidates an undue advantage, thereby affecting the democratic process.
During the proceedings, the Election Commission informed the Court that it already has monitoring systems in place. These include the appointment of expenditure observers, flying squads, accounting teams, and other oversight mechanisms intended to track and regulate campaign finances. However, the Court noted that additional suggestions placed on record by the petitioner could be evaluated to further strengthen existing safeguards.
Rather than issuing direct mandates, the Supreme Court directed the Commission to consider the proposals and circulate them to the appropriate internal bodies for review. If found practical and beneficial, the measures may be incorporated into the Commission’s procedures for monitoring election expenditure.
The Court’s intervention underscores the importance of ensuring transparency and accountability in electoral funding, emphasizing that effective regulation of campaign spending is essential to maintaining a level playing field in democratic elections.
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