The High Court of Karnataka has ordered issue of notice to the Election Commission of India on a PIL petition, which has sought directions to the EC to formulate new guidelines and introduce measures to curb newer and innovative corrupt practices, including bribing voters through gift cards, digital payments, and similar technology-based methods during the ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha and all future elections.
A Division Bench comprising acting Chief Justice P.S. Dinesh Kumar and Justice T.G. Shivashankare Gowda passed the order on the petition filed by four politicians, who had contested from various constituencies and were defeated in the elections held to the State Legislative Assembly in May last year.
The petitioners are Goutham Gowda M. of Kanakapura, Prasad K.R. of Kumbalagodu, A. Manjunath of Bidadi, and Nikhil Kumar K., son of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy. The petitioners had earlier approached the Supreme Court, which had asked them to first approach the High Court for their grievances.
It was alleged in the petition that the Congress had distributed a large number of plastic digital gift cards to gullible voters prior to polling day in at least 42 Assembly constituencies. Claiming that at least 60,000 gift cards were distributed in each of the 42 constituencies, the petitioners contended that this was one of the newer and innovative methods “experimented” with. The MLA for Ramanagara had admitted to distribution of gift cards, the petitioners claimed.
However, it was also claimed that a large number of cards turned out to be ‘fake’ as many voters could not encash them.
Despite code of conduct
Pointing out that the EC, despite having Model Code of Conduct, had failed to curb new modes of bribing, the petitioners said that new guidelines and measures are required to curb them as the existing provisions of the law have not kept pace with such new practices.
The EC, the petitioners said, is required to take some immediate steps to prevent political parties from not repeating the “Karnataka model” of innovative and paperless mode for bribing voters in the Lok Sabha polls. They said the need of the hour is amendment to laws to curb “technology-induced corruption”.
