The decision puts to rest the debate over whether the exemption was an unfair privilege granted to political parties. The SC also turned down the plea to make it mandatory for political parties to declare the source of all money received. He alleged that there are 1,848 registered political parties and they misused the law to hold unaccounted money. The petitioner, however, insisted that the term "political party" was not recognised in the Constitution. "It is for the government to decide whom to exempt under income tax law," the court said.

Source: Times of India January 11, 2017 21:52 UTC