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Nlcmc-536R Moot Court

Bachelor of Law (LLB) (Gauhati University)

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TEAM CODE: NLCMC-536

BEFORE THE HONOURABLE SUPREME COURT OF ENDIYA

AT BELHI

WRIT JURISDICTION

UNDER ARTICLE 32 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

W.P. No. xxxx/2023
Mr. Rajkumar Hirai Petitioner

Versus

Union Of Endiya and Another Respondents

MEMORIAL ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENTS

DRAWN AND FILED BY COUNSELS FOR THE

RESPONDENTS
1ST NATIONAL MOOT COURT COMPETITION, 2024.
(HYBRID MODE )

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CONTENTS
LIST OF
ABBREVIATIONS…………………………………………………………………………….. 3
INDEX OF AUTHORITIES…………………………………………………………………… 4
I. STATUES………………………………………………………………………….....4
II. TREATIES…………………………………………………………………………...4
III. CASES………………………………………………………………………….…...4
IV. BOOKS & ARTICLES …………………………………………………………….5
STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION…………………………………………………….……...6
STATEMENT OF FACTS………………………………………………………………….......7
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT …………………………………………………………….…..10
ARGUMENTS ADVANCED……………………………………………………………........12
1. WHETHER THERE IS ANY THE SCOPE OF JUDICIAL INTERVENTION WITH
RESPECT TO THE RELIEFS SOUGHT IN THE PRESENT BATCH OF
PETITIONS?
2. WHETHER PROMISING FREEBIES AMOUNT TO BRIBING VOTERS?
………………………………………………………………………..12
3. WHETHER ALL FREEBIES ARE WASTEFUL OR CAN SOME BE
CONSIDERED SOCIAL WELFARE SCHEMES?

4. WHETHER THE ELECTION PROMISES MENTIONED AMOUNT TO INEFFICIENT

UTILIZATION OF PUBLIC FUNDS AND WHO DECIDES WHETHER A PARTY IS
USING FUNDS FOR A ‘PUBLIC PURPOSE’

PRAYER………………………………………………………………………………….....…
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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

% Percentage
& And
¶ Paragraph
AIR All India Reporter
Anr. Another
CRC Convention of the Rights of the Child
CRPC Code of Criminal Procedure
Co. Company
F.I.R First Information Report
Govt. Government
Hon‟ble Honorable
i.e. That is
IPC Indian Penal Code
IT Information Technology
JJ Juvenile Justice
LR Law Report
Ltd. Limited
N.C.T National Capital Territory
NCRB National Crime Report Bureau
Ors. Others
PIB Press Information Beureau
SC Supreme Court
SCC Supreme Court Cases
Supp. Supplementary Volume
U.O.I. Union of India

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INDEX OF AUTHORITIES

A.Cases Referred

SL. No CASELAW CASE CITATION

1. Coates vs. Campbell and others 37 Minn. 498
2. Roberts vs. Hopwood & Others 1925 AC 578
3. Bromley London Borough Council, 1982 (2) WLR 62
London vs. Greater Council & Anr
4 R vs Secretary of State for Foreign (1995) 1 All ER 611
Affairs
5. Union Of India & Anr vs 2003 (5) SCC 437
International Trading Co. & Anr
6. K.T. Moopil Nair Vs State of Kerela AIR 1961 SC 552
7. Richardson Garnder vs. Ekykn, (1869) 19 LT 613
8 Kingston Cotton Mills Co. Re [1896] 2 Ch 279
9. Bhim Singh vs. Union of India and (2010) 5 SCC 538
Ors.
10. S. Subramaniam Balaji v. State of (2013) 9 SCC 659]
Tamil Nadu & Ors.
11. Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay vs Union 2023 (SC) 156
of India & Another

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STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has the Jurisdiction to hear the instant matter under Article 32 of the
Constitution of Endiya.

Article 32 of the Constitution reads as:

“32. Remedies for enforcement of rights conferred by this Part

(1) The right to move the Supreme Court by appropriate proceedings for the enforcement of the
rights conferred by this Part is guaranteed

(2) The Supreme Court shall have power to issue directions or orders or writs, including writs in
the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and certiorari, whichever
may be appropriate, for the enforcement of any of the rights conferred by this Part

(3) Without prejudice to the powers conferred on the Supreme Court by clause ( 1 ) and ( 2 ),
Parliament may by law empower any other court to exercise within the local limits of its
jurisdiction all or any of the powers exercisable by the Supreme Court under clause ( 2 )

(4) The right guaranteed by this Art. shall not be suspended except as otherwise provided for by
this Constitution

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STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. ‘Endiya’ i.e. ‘Vaharat’ is a Democratic Republic since its independence on 15 th of August

1947 and its constitution is pari material to the constitution of India.

2. Since its existence free and fair elections have been held in the nation as per the
constitutional provisions. The Constitution of Endiya has vested the superintendence,
direction and control of the entire election process of both Parliament and Legislature of
every state on the Election Commission of Endiya.

3. The Election Commission of Endiya consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two
Election Commissioners.

4. All the political parties need to register themselves in the Election Commission as
prescribed by law. And the election Commission ensures free and fair election among the
registered parties.

5. A new trend has been set where the political parties were engaged in promising freebies,
subsidies and other costless benefits in exchange of votes.

6. On August 11, 2022, the Prime Minister of Endiya in a public address remarked that
"Attempts were being made to collect votes by distributing free pithas. This free pitha culture
is very dangerous for the development of the country". This remark of the Prime Minister
brought in a wave of discussion and deliberations and questions were raised against the
Election Commission for allowing such practices amongst other. The concern over providing
freebies or social welfare schemes from public funding gained huge countrywide attention
and furthermore on September 2022, the Reserve Bank of Endiya published an article
highlighting a financial crisis developing in various states due to Cowid-19 and Rushya -
Ufrain War. The article stressed that a widening gap between state revenue and expenditure
was exacerbated by an increase in freebies offered by State governments. In the 2022-23
financial year alone, the State government's expenditure on subsidies grew at11.2% and in
highly debt ridden states such as Andher Pradesh and Kanjub, the freebies have crossed 2%
of the states' Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

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7. The Prime Minister’s statement and the article published by the Reserve Bank of Endiya
brought a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by political activist Mr. Rajkumar Hirai on
February 14th 2023 challenging the practice of offering 'irrational freebies' before the Hon'ble
Supreme Court of Endiya.

8. A large section of the general masses in various news articles and by open letters to the
Election Commission of Endiya pointed out that rather than promising better rule of law,
equal pay for equal work, clean water, equal quality education, quality healthcare, speedy
justice, effective police system, the political parties are in a race amongst themselves to
promise irrational freebies from public fund which includes some instances wherein the
Samajdar Aadmi Party has promised Rs.1,000/- per month to every woman aged 18 and
above, similarly Shyamlal Alkali Dal (SAD) promised Rs. 2,000/- to each woman to lure
them. Following similar trends, Endiya's oldest political party Kongrest promised Rs. 2000/-
per month and 8 LPG Gas cylinders per year to every house wife and also promised a Scooty
to every college going girl, Rs. 20,000/- after passing 12th class and Rs. 15,000/- after
passing class 10th and Rs. 5,000/- after passing class 8th along with giving smart phones to
all school going girls

9. Mr. R. Hirai argues that the promise of irrational freebies from public fund before
elections unduly influence voters, disturbs level playing field, shakes roots of free-fair
election & vitiates purity of election process. Petitioner also seeks declaration that promise/
distribution of private goods/service, which are not for public purposes, from public funds
before election violates Article 14, 162, 266(3) and 282 of the Constitution.

10. The Petitioner also seeks declaration that promise/ distribution of irrational freebies from
the public funds before election to lure voters is analogous to Bribery and Undue Influence
under Sec. 171B and Sec. 171C of the Endiya Penal Code. Petitioner seeks direction to the
Election Commission of Endiya to insert an additional condition: "Political party shall not
promise/ distribute irrational freebies from the public fund before election" in Para 6A, 6B
and 6C of the Election Symbols Order, 1968 and seize the election symbol/ deregister the
political party which promise/ distribute irrational freebies from public fund.

15. Moreover, on 1st April, 2023 the Samajdar Aadmi Party (SAP) filed a petition before the
Hon'ble Supreme Court of Endiya opposing the PIL Of Mr. Hirai. They argues that promises
to provide basic utilities such as free water, free electricity or free public transport are not
freebies. They noted that such benefits are crucial to provide access to basic resources and
services to all looking into Endiya's unequal society. Further, they argued that the petition
was an attempt to thwart the efforts of the opposition parties and to further Mr. Hirai's
political agenda.

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16. A large section of the general masses in various news articles and by open letters to the
Election Commission of Endiya pointed out that rather than promising better rule of law, equal
pay for equal work, clean water, equal quality education, quality healthcare, speedy justice,
effective police system, the political parties are in a race amongst themselves to promise
irrational freebies from public fund which includes some instances wherein the Samajdar Aadmi
Party has promised Rs. 1,000/- per month to every woman aged 18 and above, similarly
Shyamlal Alkali Dal (SAD) promised Rs. 2,000/- to each woman to lure them. Following similar
trends, Endiya's oldest political party Kongrest promised Rs. 2000/- per month and 20 1 ST NLC
NMCC, 2024 8 LPG Gas cylinders per year to every house wife and also promised a Scooty to
every college going girl, Rs. 20,000/- after passing 12th class and Rs. 15,000/- after passing class
10th and Rs. 5,000/- after passing class 8th along with giving smart phones to all school going
girls.

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ISSUES PRESENTED
A)Whether there is any the scope of judicial intervention with
respect to the reliefs sought in the present batch of petitions?

B) Whether promising freebies amount to bribing voters?

C) Whether all freebies are wasteful or can some be considered

social welfare schemes?

D) Whether the election promises mentioned amount to

inefficient utilization of public funds and who decides whether a
party is using funds for a ‘public purpose’

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SUMMARY OF ARGUMENTS

1. Whether there is any scope of judicial intervention with respect to the reliefs sought in
the present batch of petitions?

A) It is humbly submitted that Article 32 of the constitution of Endiya empowers citizens

to approach the Supreme Court when question of Fundamental Rights being violated
arises.

2. Whether promising freebies amount to bribing voters?

A) It is humbly submitted by the respondent that freebies are not analogous to bribery
and also freebies does not amounts to undue influence they are in fact an extension of
the welfare measures that the state is bound to provide to the citizens mandated in the
Directive Principles of the State Policy
B) The Representation of Peoples Act 1951 does not regard freebies as “corrupt
practices”

3. Whether all freebies are wasteful or can some be considered social welfare schemes?
A) It is humbly prayed that Freebies can be considered as an extension to the
Fundamental Rights guaranteed under Article 21 and the Directive Principles of the
State Policy.
B) Freebies turn out as a helping hand to the common man under Article 14 & 21

4. Whether the election promises mentioned amount to inefficient utilization of public funds
and who decides whether a party is using funds for a ‘public purpose’?
A) It is humbly submitted that election promises do not amount to inefficient utilization
of Public Funds as they ensure social equality by providing access to essential
services for low income, marginalized, deprived and elderly population.

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B) To ensure the fiscal sustainability of such programs the government should carefully
weave programs wherein freebies should be limited to pre-determined percentage of
both Center and State government expenditures, with careful assessment of income
and price elasticity as key indicators.
C) Comptroller And Auditor General of Endiya should decide whether a party is using
funds for “public purpose”

ARGUMENTS ADVANCED
1. MR. R Hirai, a political activist (herein after referred to as “Petitioner”) filed a Public
Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the practice of offering ‘irrational freebies’
before the Honorable Supreme Court of Endiya. The petitioner is filing this PIL
distribute irrational freebies from public fund before election and to Centre to enact
Law in this regard under Article 32 seeking the declaration that promise/distribution
of irrational freebies from public fund before election unduly influences the voters,
shakes the roots of free-fair elections, disturbs level playing field, vitiates the purity
of election process and also violates Articles 14, 162, 266(3) and 282. The petitioner
also seeks direction to the Election Commission of Endiya to seize election symbol
and deregister political parties.
2. On 1st April, 2023 the Samajdar Aadmi Party (SAP) (herein after referred to as
“respondent”) filed a petition before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of Endiya opposing
the PIL of Mr. Hirai. The Respondent argues that promises to provide basic utilities
such as free water, free electricity or free public transport are not freebies. They noted
that such benefits are crucial to provide access to basic resources and services to all
looking into Endiya's unequal society. Further, they argued that the petition was an
attempt to thwart the efforts of the opposition parties and to further Mr. Hirai's
political agenda.

A) Whether there is any scope of judicial intervention with

respect to the relief sought in the present batch of petitions?
3. The counsel on behalf of the respondent humbly submits that the judicial intervention
is under the ambit of Article 32 of the Constitution of Endiya where it states that the
supreme court shall have the power to issue directions or orders or writs, including
writs in the nature of habeas corpus, mandamus, prohibition, quo warranto and
certiorari, whichever is may be appropriate, for the enforcement of any of the rights
conferred by this Part
4. The respondent has prayed that the promise of irrational freebies from public fund
before elections unduly influence voters, disturbs level playing field, shakes roots of
free-fair election & vitiates purity of election process, which is a lethal threat to the

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functioning of a democracy. In the case of Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narain1 it

was held that o free-fair election is the basic structure of the Constitution. Under
Article 32 of the Constitution of Endiya, the Supreme Court being the apex judicial
body has the power to adjudicate such matters.
5. The Right to Equality under Article 14 of the Constitution has been inflicted but there
is an exception that the State has been permitted for reasonable classification based
on intelligible differentia, and such classification must have a nexus with the object of
the Law. In making free distribution, the State, therefore, must show that it has
identified the class of persons to whom such distributions are sought to be made using
intelligible differentia, and that such differentia has a rational nexus with the object of
the distribution. As held in Union of India v. International Trading Co.2 Article 14
applies to matters of government policies and such policies or action would be
unconstitutional if it fails to satisfy the test of reasonableness.
6. The Petitioner has prayed that for purpose of vindicating these precious fundamental
rights, in so far as the Supreme Court is concern, apart from Articles 32 and 142,
which empower the Court to issue such directions as may be necessary for doing
complete justice in any matter, Article 144 also mandates all authorities civil or
judicial in the territory of Endiya, to act in aid of the order passed by Supreme Court.
Being protector of civil liberty of citizens, the Supreme Court has not only the power
and jurisdiction, but also an obligation to protect the fundamental rights, guaranteed
by Part III in general and under Article 21 in particular, zealously and vigilantly.
The Supreme Court and the High Courts are the sentinel of justice and have been
vested with extra ordinary powers of judicial review to ensure the rights of citizens
are duly protected3.

B) Whether promising freebies amount to bribing voters?

7. It is humbly submitted by the respondent that freebies are not analogous to bribery
and also freebies does not amounts to undue influence they are in fact an extension of
the welfare measures that the state is bound to provide to the citizens mandated in the
Directive Principles of the State Policy. In the case of Subramanian Balaji V. State of
Tamil Nadu4 the court was considering the question, “Whether the promises made by
the political parties in the election manifesto would amount to ‘corrupt practices’ as
per Section 123 of the Representation of People Act.”
8. The SC decided that such promises cannot be called corruption or bribery because the
Representation of People Act speaks of candidates and not political parties as a

1
AIR 1975 2 SCC 159 ( India)
2
(2003) 5 SSC 437
3
M.L.SHARMA (2014) 2 SCC 532 ( India)
4
SLP (C) No. 21455 of 2008

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whole. “The manifesto of a political party is a statement of its policy. The question of
implementing the manifesto arises only if the political party forms a Government. It is
the promise of a future Government. It is not a promise of an individual candidate,”
the court said.
9. The court further said that promises in an election manifesto include things like
employment and the development of some neighborhoods, and all of them cannot be
called bribery or corruption. “it is not within the domain of this Court to legislate
what kind of promises can or cannot be made in the election manifesto,” the SC said.

C) Whether all freebies are wasteful or can some be considered social

welfare schemes?
10. The respondent humbly submits that giving freebies is not against the Right to
Equality under Article 14 promised by the Constitution.
11. In the Subramanian Balaji V. State of Tamil Nadu5 The court however held that since
the said schemes are in furtherance of Directive Principles, the principle of ‘do not
treat unequals as equals’ is not applicable in this case, since the state is not placing
any financial liability on citizens. “While implementing the directive principles, it is
for the Government concerned to take into account its financial resources and the
needs of the people,” the court said, “If certain benefits are restricted to a particular
class that can obviously be on account of the limited resources of the State. All
welfare measures cannot at one made available to all the citizens. The State can
gradually extend the benefit and this principle has been recognized by this Court in
several judgments.”
12. The respondent humbly submits that Welfare schemes, in their truest sense, refer to
support programs run by the government to help the poor and needy. In recent
political discourse, they translate to tools that can win you an election. The inception
of welfare schemes finds its roots in the fundamental concept of a welfare state,
where the government assumes a pivotal role in safeguarding and enhancing the
economic and social welfare of its populace. Welfare schemes have become a
common feature of contemporary political discourse, with extensive welfare schemes
proposed during election campaigns, they have become the so called “necessary evil”
13. The respondent humbly states that in many ways, freebies turn out to be very helpful
for the common man as it acts as a helping hand and lets them save some money. As
per the present economic condition of India, more than 50% of its population works a
daily wage worker with an average salary of Rs 372/day. With such a lower salary, it
becomes quite difficult for the daily wagers to survive and in such conditions, if they

5
SLP (C) No. 21455 of 2008

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get freebies from the government, this is nothing less than a boon for them. Thus
freebies turn out as a helping hand to the common man under Article 14& 21.

D) Whether the election promises mentioned amount to inefficient utilization

of public funds and who decides whether a party is using funds for a
‘public purpose’?

14. The respondent humbly states that Freebies must be understood from an economic
perspective and connected to taxpayers' money. Governments and states should have
the capacity to create subsidy programs to assist the needy, but such programs must
provide a clear rationale for investing more in basic amenities and have a clear
indication of the funds to sustain the state's economic health. The subsidies in basic
necessities such as giving free education to younger children and offering free meals
at schools are rather positive approaches. It is essential to evaluate the positive aspects
of freebies and ensure they contribute to legitimate public spending. India has
implemented several economic and social reforms to achieve this goal, introducing
policy measures that can be considered legitimate freebies. For instance, the public
distribution System (PDS) provides free or subsidised essential commodities, while
subsidised employment programmes like NGNREGA guarantee rural households a
certain number of days of wage employment.
15. The respondent begs to state that to ensure the fiscal sustainability of such
programmes, support for freebies should be limited to a predetermined percentage of
both central and state government expenditures, pending improvements in revenue
ratios. Effective allocation of resources for welfare schemes should involve a careful
assessment of income and price elasticity as key indicators. Ultimately, prudent fiscal
management must walk hand in hand with the goals of social and economic
convergence.
16. The Petitioner humbly states that the Comptroller and Auditor General is mandated
by the Constitution of Endiya in Articles 149-151. He has been entrusted by Article
149 and the Comptroller and Auditor General (duties, powers, conditions of service)
Act 1971 to perform such duties in relation to the accounts of the union and the states.
17. In the case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay v. Union Of India & Anr the Supreme Court
deliberated on the question if the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG)
has a duty to examine expenditures even before they are deployed.” On this, the court
ordered that the CAG is only an auditor, and cannot dictate how governments spend
their money. The office of CAG exercises effective control over the government
accounts and expenditure incurred on these schemes only after implementation of the

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same. As a result, the duty of the CAG will arise only after the expenditure has been
incurred,” the court said.
18. The petitioner humbly submits that the Comptroller and Auditor General has been
entrusted to audit and report on all receipts into and spending from the Consolidated
Fund of the Union and state Governments. It also audits all transactions of the union,
of the states and the Union Territories having a Legislative Assembly, relating to the
Contingency Funds and Public Accounts. In the case of Association of Unified
Telecom Service Providers of India & Ors. V. Union of India 6 it was held that the ug
Comptroller and Auditor General has the supreme authority to audit each and every
transaction of both the Centre and the States.

6
WP(C) No. 3673/2010, WP(C)No. 3679/2010

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PRAYER

Wherefore in the light of arguments advanced, authorities cited and facts mentioned, the
Honourable Court may be pleased to adjudicate by issuing an appropriate writ, direction or order,
in nature of:

1. DISMISS the claim made by the Petitioner’s Counsel stating that freebies from public
fund before elections unduly influence voters, disturbs level playing field, shakes roots of
free-fair election & vitiates purity of election process.
2. DISMISS the claim made by the Petitioner’s Counsel seeking declaration that promise/
distribution of private goods/service, which are not for public purposes, from public funds
before election violates Article 14, 162, 266(3) and 282 of the Constitution
3. DISMISS the claim made by the Petitioner’s Counsel seeking declaration that promise/
distribution of irrational freebies from the public funds before election to lure voters is
analogous to Bribery and Undue Influence under Sec. 171B and Sec. 171C of the Endiya
Penal Code.
4. DISMISS the claim made by the Petitioner’s Counsel seeking direction to the Election
Commission of Endiya to insert an additional condition: "Political party shall not
promise/ distribute irrational freebies from the public fund before election" in Para 6A,
6B and 6C of the Election Symbols Order, 1968 and seize the election symbol/ deregister
the political party which promise/ distribute irrational freebies from public fund.

And any other relief that the Honorable Court may be pleased to grant in the
interests of justice, equity and good conscience.

All of which is humbly submitted.

Filed on: __/__/2023

Sd/- Counsels for the Respondent

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