Court affirms compliance by the Election Commission regarding election manifestos and denies further permission to the Petitioner.

Dated this the 21st day of January, 2026 JUDGMENT Soumen Sen, C.J.

In this Public Interest Litigation, the Petitioner contends that the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in S.Subramaniam Balaji v. State of Tamil Nadu , 2013 (9) SCC 659 , directing the Election Commission to frame guidelines for election manifestos in consultation with all the recognized political parties, have not been fully implemented by the Election Commission.

2. The statement filed on behalf of the 3^rd Respondent, i.e., the Election Commission of India, states that the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court with regard to the framing of guidelines to be adhered to by the political parties and candidates while releasing election manifestos for any election to

the Parliament or State Legislatures have been framed after due consultation with political parties and in this regard, the learned Standing Counsel for the Election Commission of India has referred to paragraph No.17 of the affidavit, which sets out the guidelines. For the sake of clarity, the said guidelines read as follows :

“(i)The election manifesto shall not contain anything repugnant to the ideals and principles enshrined in the Constitution and further that it shall be consistent with the letter and spirit of other provisions of Model Code of Conduct.

(ii) The Directive Principles of State Policy enshrined in the Constitution enjoin upon the State to frame various welfare measures for the citizens and therefore there can be no objection to the promise of such welfare measures in election manifestos. However, political parties should avoid making those promises which are likely to vitiate the purity of the election process or exert undue influence on the voters in exercising their franchise.

(iii)In the interest of transparency, level playing fields and credibility of promises, it is expected that manifestos also reflect the rationale for the promises and broadly indicate the ways and means to meet the financial requirements for it. Trust of voters should be sought only on those promises which are possible to be fulfilled.”

3. In the statement, it has been clearly stated that the aforesaid guidelines have been incorporated as Part VIII of the Model Code of Conduct and it has been clarified that the same would be applicable from the date a political party issues its manifesto irrespective of whether such date is before or after the date of announcement of the election schedule by the Election Commission of India. A true copy of the Model Code of Conduct for the Guidance of Political Parties and Candidates issued by the Election Commission of India has also been disclosed in Annexure-R3(a). It would thus be clear from the aforesaid guidelines that the political parties and candidates are henceforth required to explain their rationale for the promises made in their election manifestos as well as the possible ways and means of financing such promises.

4. Besides the aforesaid statement dated 21.06.2025 filed on behalf of the 3^rd Respondent, it has also disclosed a letter No.437/6/INST/ECI/FUNCT/MCC/2024 (Election Manifesto)

dated 02.01.2024, whereby the Election Commission of India has forwarded consolidated instructions, in supersession of all its earlier instructions, in respect of election manifestos. It is stated in the statement that the Election Commission of India has not received any representation alleged to have been sent or forwarded to it on 08.03.2024.

5. We have considered the representation made in Ext.P9 and it appears that the essence thereof is to incorporate certain aspects which fall within the domain of the Legislature. The Hon’ble Supreme