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The petitioner stated that he received “numerous spam calls soliciting vote in favor of AAM AADMI PARTY. These calls are a pre- recorded voice message, which says that all the freebies which are being offered by the AAM AADMI PARTY would be withdrawn if BJP led government comes into power in Delhi Legislative Assembly Election, 2025”.
The Delhi High Court, on Wednesday, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by three lawyers — Dhrone Diwan, Kashish Dhawan, and Arshia Jain — seeking action against political parties and organizations responsible for flooding the public domain with spam calls.
The petitioners claimed that they had been receiving spam calls on a daily basis from unknown numbers, which promoted the need for a specific political party to come into power. The calls also warned that, if the opposition won, the public would lose access to various ‘freebies’. According to the petition, these unsolicited messages sought to coerce voters into supporting the ruling party under the threat of losing state-provided benefits.
The petitioners argued that such conduct violated the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951, which ensures equal opportunities for all candidates. They also contended that the AAP’s actions amounted to bribery and undue influence, both of which are prohibited under the law.
In response to the petition, the bench, consisting of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, acknowledged that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had already taken cognizance of the issue. The court noted that the ECI had been directed to take appropriate actions regarding the complaints raised.
Per the petition, the cause of action arose on January 23, 2025, when the petitioners began receiving calls, specifically naming AAP and threatening the withdrawal of 'freebies' from February 11, 2025. The calls further implied that only AAP could guarantee continued benefits, attempting to coerce voters into supporting the party by instilling fear and creating public bias against other political factions.
Furthermore, the petitioners pointed out that the voice calls lacked the necessary certification from the Election Commission, raising concerns about whether proper procedures had been followed for political advertisements. The absence of certification for the content also called into question the legitimacy of the material being disseminated.
Case Title: Dhrone Diwan v Election Commission Of India
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