Overview
- A two-judge bench led by Justice Sanjay Karol expanded a Bellary bypoll appeal on Monday, August 17, 2026, into nationwide directions that treat unaccounted cash in elections as a threat to free and fair voting.
- The court ordered authorities who seize cash or assets to report the seizure to the district magistrate or court within 24 hours with written reasons and directed investigating officers to try to finish probes within one year.
- Investigators must send quarterly status reports to the Election Commission through a nodal officer, Static Surveillance Teams must forward detections over ₹10 lakh to Income Tax, and High Courts must approve any withdrawal of prosecutions in a given election cycle.
- High Courts were asked to designate special courts for speedy trials of cases against candidates and sitting MPs or MLAs, and the Election Commission plus central and state governments must file compliance affidavits by November 18, 2026.
- The judgment cited decades of committee reports and ECI data showing hundreds of thousands of election FIRs and modest conviction rates as the basis for these measures and signaled possible reductions in unilateral case withdrawals and long pendency that have let money influence outcomes.