All India Trinamool Congress’ National Spokesperson, Saket Gokhale, has recently moved the Meghalaya High Court on 06.12.2022 seeking derecognition of the Conrad Sangma led National People’s Party (NPP) for not filing the Election Expenditure Report for the 2018 Meghalaya Legislative Assembly Election.

The Election Commission of India (ECI), however, has yet not filed its response and has sought for more time to file a response on 29.12.2022. The ECI had earlier, on 16.12.2022, sought time to file a response despite having been served with a notice on 06.12.2022. The matter has now been posted for hearing on 31.01.2022.

Gokhale has stated in his plea that the law, as framed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) pursuant to the judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Common Cause: A Registered Society v. Union of India & Ors., (1996) 2 SCC 752, makes it mandatory for political parties to file Election Expenditure Report within 75 days of the conclusion of the polls. Failure to file the Election Expenditure Report is punishable with the withdrawal of recognition of such a political party. It has been insisted that the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Meghalaya failed to take action against the NPP for violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court of India as well as extant electoral laws.

The plea submits that in furtherance of the Supreme Court's ruling in the case of Common Cause: A Registered Society v. Union of India & Ors., the Election Commission of India has prescribed Pro-forma in which political parties are required to submit, for the ECI's scrutiny, the Election Expenditure Report for every election.

The plea also avers that the NPP has not filed the Election Expenditure Report for at least past ten (10) general elections which include:
(i)    2018 General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram;
(ii)    2019 General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh and Jharkhand;
(iii)    2020 General Elections to Legislative Assembly of Bihar;
(iv)    2021 General Elections to Legislative Assemblies of Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal; and,
(v)    2019 General Election to Lok Sabha.

The plea states:
"...by not filing its election expenditure statement for 4.5 years despite repeated notices, (NPP) has not only willfully disobeyed extant electoral rules with impunity but has also deprived the larger electorate of its "right to know" the details of financials of a political party in the context of elections.”

It is worth noting that NPP is the only political party in India which’s recognition has once earlier been suspended in the year 2015 on the same ground, i.e., on account of its failure to file its Election Expenditure Report.

Case Details:-

Saket S. Gokhale v. Election Commission of India & Others
W.P.(C) No. 485 of 2022