SC to Hear PIL Against Political Parties' 'Irrational Freebies' Promises

• The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in March concerning political parties promising 'irrational freebies' before elections.
• The PIL, filed by lawyer Ashwini Updhyaya, seeks to seize the symbol or deregister parties making such promises, arguing it's a 'corrupt practice'.
• Notices were issued to the Centre and Election Commission in 2022 by a bench led by then CJI N V Ramana, who termed it a 'serious issue'.
• The petition argues that such promises unduly influence voters, disturb the level-playing field, and vitiate the purity of the poll process.
• It also seeks a direction to the ECI to amend the Election Symbols Order to prevent parties from promising irrational freebies from public funds.