The Supreme Court on July 26 orally asked the Centre to find out from the Finance Commission whether there is a way to curb political parties from promising and distributing "irrational freebies" during election campaigns.
A Bench led by Chief Justice of India N. V. Ramana flagged the issue as "serious" and asked for means to control the promise of "freebies" to entice votes.
The court did not receive a clear-cut answer from Additional Solicitor General K. M. Nataraj on the Centre's position. "You take a stand whether freebies should continue or not," Chief Justice Ramana addressed Mr. Nataraj.
