Supreme Court asked- can political parties use public transport in rallies without paying?

The Supreme Court questioned whether political parties could use free public transport for their rallies. During the hearing on the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee's suit against an Allahabad High Court order, the top court made this observation.

The UP Congress Committee (UPCC) was ordered by the High Court to reimburse the UP State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) for arrears of Rs 2.66 crore. The stay on the order for the collection of dues was not imposed by the Supreme Court; instead, it stated that the UPCC had to deposit Rs 1 crore within four weeks for the stay to be lifted. The bill has been unpaid ever since Congress utilised buses and taxis on public roads for demonstrations during its rule in the United Provinces from 1981 to 1989.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and KV Vishwanathan announced that it would look into the idea of designating an arbitrator to determine the petitioner's true liability in response to the UPCC's appeal. UPCC counsel Salman Khurshid said that even though the High Court had said that no recovery could be made under the 1972 Act, it held that the amount would have to be paid through discretionary powers.

On this, Justice Surya Kant asked, can political parties use public transport for rallies without paying. To this, Khurshid replied ‘No’.