The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Prashant Kishor-led Jan Suraj Party’s plea seeking annulment of the 2025 Bihar Assembly polls, reprimanding the party for invoking the judicial forum after a complete rejection of the polls.
The Court indicated that the High Court would be the appropriate forum to examine state-specific complaints. (HT Photo)A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Jayamalya Bagchir declined to examine allegations of large-scale electoral irregularities, including direct cash transfers. ₹10,000 women voters while imposing the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), observing that the courts cannot be used to overturn an electoral verdict rendered by voters.
“How many votes have you got? If the people reject you, you use the judicial forum to get relief,” the bench told the petitioner’s lawyer, adding that the Jan Suraj Party contested 242 of the 243 assembly seats but failed to win a single seat. “You just want to declare the election null and void,” the bench observed, adding that the plan should have been challenged at the appropriate level.
The Court indicated that the High Court would be the appropriate forum to examine state-specific complaints. “As it relates to only one state, please go to that high court. In some cases, there is a serious problem of free will, which we will examine seriously,” the bench said.
Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for the Jan Suraj Party, argued that the Bihar government had misused the Chief Minister Mahila Rozgar Yojana to influence voters by enrolling and transferring new beneficiaries just before the elections. ₹10,000 for women when MCC was in force. He claimed that more than 3.5 million women were brought under the scheme during the elections, even though the state was facing a severe fiscal deficit. “In that sense it is a wave ₹10,000 is paid immediately,” submitted Singh.
More Read
But the bench distinguished between the general direct benefit transfer scheme and the program in question. “The direct transfer scheme is different. It is about women’s self-help groups,” it observed
Acknowledging that the broader issue of free will would require examination, the bench questioned the bona fides of the petitioner. “We will consider the issue of freebies. But we also have to look at sincerity. We cannot look at it at the behest of a party that has just lost. When you come to power, you do the right thing,” it said.
Following this observation, the Jan Suraj Party withdrew its petition.
More Read
In its petition, the Jan Suraj Party has alleged that Bihar’s ruling system has engaged in “illegal, unconstitutional and corrupt practices” by violating constitutional guarantees of free and fair elections, enrolling new beneficiaries under welfare schemes and transferring funds to an estimated 2.5-3.5 million women voters.
The party sought action against the Election Commission of India under Article 324 of the Constitution, which empowers it to conduct free and fair elections, and Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, which deals with bribery and corruption. It also questioned the deployment of nearly 180,000 women belonging to self-help groups under the livelihood program at polling stations, alleging that it compromised electoral impartiality.
The Jan Suraj Party relied on the Supreme Court’s 2013 judgment in S Subramaniam Balaji v State of Tamil Nadu seeking comprehensive guidelines on free, welfare schemes and direct benefit transfers during election periods.
The petition was filed months after the party’s electoral debut ended in a rout with the National Democratic Alliance winning a landslide victory in 202 seats in the 243-member assembly.
