The Court had indicated on August 24 that the case will be listed before a different Bench.
During that hearing, in line with previous suggestions for the formation of a committee to deliberate on the issue, Senior Advocate Vikas Singh had suggested,
“I was suggesting a retired Supreme Court judge head the committee like Justice Lodha…”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had replied,
“I think a Constitutional body should head the committee to deliberate.”
CJI Ramana had then asked,
“Why doesn’t the Government of India form a committee to study this issue?”
SG Mehta replied that the Central government will help in every way, and that the committee can submit a report on the issue in three months.
Questioning what can be defined as a freebie, Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for the Election Commission, asked,
“If something is there in manifesto, can it be called a freebie? There is enough material available to judge the economic impact of freebies.”
CJI Ramana went on to observe,
“Who is in opposition today can come into power tomorrow and they will have to manage this. So things like freebies etc which can destroy the economy. It has to be looked at and I just cannot pass a mandamus. Thus, there needs to be a debate.”
Source: Barandbench
