Recently, the Supreme Court made this distinction clear orally in response to an oral mention by an advocate for listing a batch of petitions. The petitions request that the practice of offering freebies to entice voters during elections be declared a corrupt practice by the court. While pronouncing on a case in 2013, however, the Supreme Court had said that making promises in election manifestos was not to be considered such a corrupt practice. The most recent comments by the Supreme Court point to the importance of the distinction between freebies for election time and welfare schemes for those not in the creamy layer of society. So the court’s comments go beyond condemning freebies as a corrupt practice during election time and indicate the long-lasting damage to resources that they cause.

Source: The Telegraph January 26, 2026 02:48 UTC