The Karnataka High Court has dismissed the election petition filed against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, which had challenged his election from the Varuna constituency during the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav, who presided over the case as a single-judge bench.
The petition was filed by K M Shankara, a voter from the Varuna constituency. He had accused the Congress leader of engaging in electoral malpractice during the assembly elections. Shankara alleged that Siddaramaiah and his party offered "freebies" to voters through their election manifesto, which, according to him, amounted to corrupt practices under the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
Highlighting the core of the petition, the petitioner pointed towards the five major guarantees announced by the Congress party as part of its election campaign in Karnataka. The guarantees included: “Gruha Jyothi,” which promised 200 units of free electricity to all households; “Gruha Lakshmi,” offering ₹2,000 every month to the woman head of every family; “Anna Bhagya,” providing 10 kilograms of food grains per month to every member of a below poverty line (BPL) family; “Yuva Nidhi,” which assured ₹3,000 per month for two years to unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 per month for two years to unemployed diploma holders; and “Uchita Prayana” or “Shakthi,” which promised free bus travel for women across Karnataka in KSRTC and BMTC buses.
According to the petitioner, these guarantees were nothing but an inducement to voters, and he argued that:
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The five guarantees are corrupt practices amounting to bribery and also undue influence under Section 123(2) of the Representation of the People Act. The said guarantees are in the nature of offer and promises made by the candidate and by the Indian National Congress party. They are in the form of gratification to the electorate of Varuna constituency and with the object of directly inducing the electorate to vote for the Congress party candidate — Siddaramaiah.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel stressed that Siddaramaiah had personally promoted the guarantees while campaigning, rather than the Congress party as an organization. The counsel submitted:
"My case is that R1 (Siddaramaiah) admits that he has canvassed for the entire constituency and State, public meetings are held, advertisements have been given. Guarantee is signed by Siddaramaiah. It is not by Indian National Congress, a political party. He is asking for votes based on the guarantees. Therefore, he has acted as an agent and himself is a candidate. Entire election held in Karnataka has to be declared as void."
It was also argued that these welfare guarantees were in contradiction to the directive principles of State policy, and the petitioner urged the court to not only declare Siddaramaiah's election as void but also to disqualify him from contesting any election for six years.
After hearing the arguments, the High Court dismissed the petition. While the detailed order is still awaited, the dismissal effectively upholds Siddaramaiah’s victory from the Varuna constituency.
The case was registered under the title K V Shankara And Siddaramaiah and was listed as Election Petition No. 13 of 2023.
Case Title: K V Shankara And Siddaramiah
Case No: EP 13/2023.
