Observing that freebies and social welfare schemes are two different things, the Supreme Court on Thursday said a balance has to be struck between the economy losing money and welfare measures.
It also ruled out the possibility of considering a plea for de-recognising parties for making promises to give freebies.
Asking stakeholders to give suggestions on this aspect before August 17, a bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justice Krishna Murari said the idea to de-recognise political parties for making promises to give irrational freebies during the polls was āundemocraticā.
āI do not want to enter the area of de-registering a political party etc. as it is an undemocratic idea…We are a democracy after all,ā the CJI, speaking for the bench, said.
The CJI said the issue of promise to grant irrational freebies during the poll process is a āserious issueā but he will not encroach into the legislative domain even if there was a statutory vacuum on the issue.