Supreme Court asks Election Commission to consider writ petitioner’s suggestions against excessive poll expenditure

The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 10, 2026) asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider suggestions made in a writ petition to frame a standard operating procedure to trim election expenditure.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said the suggestions made by petitioner Prabhakar Deshpande were “worth consideration”.

Mr. Deshpande, an IIT graduate and chemical engineer, had sought directions for the poll panel to formulate a plan of action against erring candidates and to re-examine the cap on election expenses to ensure democratic credibility.

ECI defends its regulations

While the ECI defended its existing oversight mechanisms, including the deployment of independent expenditure observers from the All India Services, the Bench noted that the petitioner’s grievances regarding the effectiveness of these measures were filed in the larger public interest.

“We have no reason to doubt the plea has been filed in the larger public interest. The plea seeks the Election Commission to formulate a detailed policy to curb excessive election expenditure. The plea cited a report detailing such expenditure. The ECI has filed a counter inter alia questioning the authenticity of the report,” the Bench observed.