Supreme Court Seeks Responses on Plea to Cap Political Party Poll Expenditure

PTI, Feb 26, 2026, New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre and the Election Commission on a plea seeking directions to impose a ceiling on the expenditure by political parties for election purposes.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi issued notice to the Centre and the poll authority seeking their responses on the petition.

"Issue notice, returnable on April 27," the bench said.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan appeared for the petitioner NGOs Common Cause and Centre for Public Interest Litigation.

The plea said the absence of any expenditure limit on political parties, despite strict limits on individual candidates under Section 77(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, creates an "unlevel playing field" in electoral contests, violating the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.

"Explanation 1(a) to Section 77(1) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 creates a legal fiction by excluding from account the massive expenditure incurred by political parties in connection with the election of a candidate, even when the expenses serve the same electoral purpose," it said.

The plea said Section 77(1) of the Act introduced limits on the expenditure incurred by individual candidates during elections.