Overview
- A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta sought responses after issuing notice to Siddaramaiah on a challenge to his Varuna assembly victory.
- The special leave petition contests the Karnataka High Court’s April 22 dismissal that labeled the election case vague, lacking cause of action, and barred by law.
- Petitioner K. Shankara, a Varuna voter, claims Congress’s five guarantees—free electricity, cash to women heads, extra foodgrain, stipends for unemployed youth, and free bus travel for women—amount to bribery and undue influence under Section 123 of the RP Act.
- He asks the court to declare the election void and to bar Siddaramaiah from contesting for six years, and he argues the women-only bus scheme violates Article 14.
- The bench questioned how a manifesto could constitute corrupt practice but proceeded after learning the 2013 S. Subramaniam Balaji precedent is under reconsideration by a larger bench, indicating potential consequences for party manifestos and welfare pledges.