The Supreme Court declined to entertain Jan Suraaj Party’s plea seeking cancellation of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections over alleged Model Code violations.
The bench pulled up the party for approaching the court after losing polls and said the matter should be taken to the Patna High Court.
The party alleged the Bihar government violated the MCC by distributing funds under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana ahead of elections.
SC Refuses To Hear Jan Suraaj's Plea Seeking Annulment Of Bihar Polls
Jan Suraaj Party told to approach Patna HC over MCC violation claim
Summary
The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a petition filed by the Jan Suraaj Party, founded by former political strategist Prashant Kishor, seeking the annulment of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections on the grounds of violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) ahead of the polls.
The party said that immediately before elections, the debt-ridden state violated the MCC by giving away Rs 15,600 crore under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana, denying other political parties a level playing field.
A panel made up of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi criticised the party for attempting to manipulate the legal system to win support and obtain relief after losing the election and requested that it take the matter up with the Patna High Court.
"How many votes did you get? Once people reject you, you use the judicial forum to get relief! Somebody should have challenged the scheme itself then. That is not the prayer before us. You just want an omnibus direction for the declaration of election of the entire state as null and void," the CJI said.
The bench said the plea was nothing but a composite election petition for the entire state.
"Since it deals with only one State, please go to that High Court. In some cases, there is a serious issue of freebies, which we will seriously examine," the bench said.
Senior advocate CU Singh, appearing for the party, said that the scheme under which the payment was made to voters was announced just before the polls, and the payments were made when the MCC was in force.
"But when a State has a grave fiscal deficit, and it is a dole in the sense that 10,000 will be paid immediately, and over 35 lakh people enrolled in this scheme just after the MCC was announced," the senior lawyer said.
"Direct transfer schemes are different. This is about women self help groups," the bench said.
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After the BJP-led NDA won 202 seats in the 243-member Assembly and the INDIA alliance won 35, the Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) petitioned the Supreme Court for a fresh election in Bihar.
The majority of the JSP's candidates lost their deposits, and the party was unable to secure any seats.
The petition sought action under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 123 of the Representation of the People Act, alleging that the state government had violated the MCC by giving Rs 10,000 to women beneficiaries under the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana following the announcement of the election schedule.
To encourage self-employment and small companies in the state, the Mukhyamantri Mahila Rojgar Yojana gives women an initial financial reward of Rs 10,000.
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