Today, the Supreme Court described the issue of political parties offering freebies during elections as "very important. . The Court also confirmed that it will retain the petitions challenging this practice on its docket.

A bench led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, was informed by lawyer and PIL petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay that the pleas regarding the issue were already scheduled for the day's docket and required a hearing.

Since the bench was engaged with another part-heard case, it was unlikely that the PILs concerning freebies would be addressed that day, the lawyer noted. He also requested that the pleas be retained on the docket for consideration at a later date.

"This will not be deleted (from the cause list)," the CJI said, adding that the issues raised were "very important".

The pleas were last brought up for urgent hearing on March 20 this year. In his petition, Upadhyay requested the Court to direct the Election Commission to use its authority to freeze the election symbols and cancel the registration of political parties that promise irrational freebies.

The plea argued that such populist measures, aimed at gaining undue political favor, violate the Constitution and urged the Election Commission to implement deterrent measures. It also sought a declaration from the Court that promises of irrational freebies from public funds before elections unduly influence voters, disrupt the level playing field, and compromise the integrity of the electoral process.

“Petitioner submits that the recent trend of political parties to influence voters by offering freebies with an eye on elections is not only the greatest threat to the survival of democratic values but also injures the spirit of the Constitution,” said the plea.

“This unethical practice is just like giving bribes to the electorate at the cost of the exchequer to stay in power & must be avoided to preserve democratic principles & practices,” it said.

There are eight recognized national political parties and 56 state-level recognized parties in India. Additionally, there are approximately 2,800 registered unrecognized political parties in the country.