NEW DELHI: Declaring that the right of political parties to form alliances could not be curtailed in a democracy, the Supreme Court on Friday said it could not pass any direction to restrain a party from ditching its pre-poll partner after elections to form a new front with other political parties against whom it had fought the elections.
A bench of Justices NV Ramana, Ashok Bhushan and Sanjiv Khanna dismissed a plea filed against the post-poll alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to form government in Maharashtra. The bench said it could not pass any order on such an issue as it was beyond its jurisdiction
The petition was filed by one Pramod Pandit Joshi of Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha alleging that the post-poll alliance of the three parties in Maharashtra was a "fraud" on the electorate for gaining power. He contended that Sena had fought the elections under the NDA banner along with BJP against Congress and NCP. Challenging Sena's decision to shift its allegiance to Congress and NCP after the elections, the petitioner alleged that it was a betrayal of the people who had voted for it on the basis of promises made to them in the election manifesto.
The bench, however, said the court could not go into those issues and it also could not restrict the right of political parties to form alliances. "Do you think we can direct political parties to implement election manifesto? All sorts of promises are made in the manifesto and how can we pass an order to enforce it? We cannot go into those areas where the court has no jurisdiction," it added.
The bench said it was for people to decide and the court had no role in it. "In a democracy, we cannot curtail the freedom of political parties to align with other political parties. If we accept your arguments, then there will be no democracy," it said.
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