Ashok Gehlot News / Relief in former CM Gehlot's smartphone guarantee card case, High Court ends petition

Ashok Gehlot News: The Rajasthan High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's Smartphone Guarantee Card Scheme after two years. A division bench of Justices Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Bipin Gupta ruled based on the state government's statement that the scheme is currently ineffective.

Disposal of the Petition

While disposing of this PIL filed by lawyer Mudit Nagpal in 2023, the court granted the petitioner the freedom to approach the court again if necessary in the future. Additional Advocate General Mahavir Bishnoi, representing the government, clarified in court, based on a letter dated October 9, 2023, that the Smartphone Guarantee Card Scheme is no longer in effect. The court took this statement on record and dismissed the petition. Advocate Madhav Vyas represented the petitioner.

A Two-Year Legal Battle

The case began in September 2023, when Ganganagar-based lawyer Mudit Nagpal challenged the Planning Department's order dated August 21, 2023. The petition named the Rajasthan government, the Finance Secretary, the Planning Secretary, the Information Technology Department, and the Principal Accountant General as respondents.

Key Dates and Events:

September 19, 2023: During the hearing, a division bench of Justices Vijay Bishnoi and Yogendra Kumar Purohit issued a show-cause notice to the government, asking why the August 21, 2023, order should not be set aside.

March 17, 2023: During the discussion on the Appropriation Bill, then-Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot stated that due to unavoidable circumstances, smartphones could not be distributed in the financial year 2022-23. He stated that smartphones would now be distributed to girl students of grades 10 and 12 in government schools, colleges, ITI/Polytechnics, and widows/single women pensioners. The plan was to distribute 4 million smartphones in the first phase.

October 17, 2023: A division bench comprising then Chief Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Vineet Kumar Mathur was informed that the distribution of smartphone guarantee cards was halted due to the code of conduct.

December 16, 2024: The government sought time to clarify the status of the scheme before a division bench comprising then Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice Rekha Borana. The next hearing was scheduled for January 13, 2025.

Planning and Budget

The petitioner's lawyers stated that in the 2022-23 budget, the state government had allocated ₹2,500 crore to provide smartphones to women heads of 13.3 million Chiranjeevi families. However, smartphones were not distributed in the 2022-23 financial year.

Legal Arguments

The petitioner cited Section 5(4) of the Rajasthan Financial Responsibility and Budget Management Act, arguing that the government is required to declare a financial policy strategy statement, including revenue, expenditure, borrowing, and guarantees. They argued that the decision to distribute guarantee cards without this announcement was illegal.

Allegation of Election Campaigning

The petitioner's lawyers alleged that distributing guarantee cards in exchange for smartphones was a publicity stunt, which fell under the definition of electoral malpractices. They argued that this action violated fiscal laws and that issuing guarantee cards without specific provisions was illegal.

End of the Scheme

By a letter dated October 9, 2023, the government clarified that the Smartphone Guarantee Card Scheme is no longer in effect. With this statement, the High Court ended a two-year legal dispute. The court granted the petitioner the liberty to file a fresh petition if needed in the future.