In a partial relief to the Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy government in Andhra Pradesh, the state high court late on Thursday night permitted the government to release funds into the accounts of beneficiaries of six different DBT welfare schemes, but only for one day on Friday.
The high court has temporarily set aside the Election Commission of India’s orders to withhold fund transfers until the conclusion of elections.
The high court said it was keeping in abeyance the EC orders of May 9 only up to Friday. It asked the state government not to release any funds/amounts between May 11 and 13 strictly.
It does mean, the Jagan government can credit the money into the accounts of the DBT scheme beneficiaries on Friday.
At the same time, the high court ordered that the government should not do any publicity of any kind in electronic, print, radio, internet or any other media in any form whatsoever regarding the release of the amounts under the welfare schemes.
“There shall not be any fanfare or ceremonies and involvement of any political functionary by ensuring that all other relevant instructions issued by the Election Commission of India in the Model Code of Conduct are not deviated,” the high court said.
The high court asked the ECI to file a detailed counter on the main issue of disbursing the benefits of the schemes and other issues that may arise for consideration in the main writ petitions.
The EC argued that the government had released the funds for six different DBT schemes between January 6 to March 14, but the amount was not credited into the accounts of the beneficiaries, though under a DBT scheme, the funds get transferred to the beneficiaries within 24 hours or at most in 48 hours.
“The Commission came to know that state government is contemplating to disburse assistance to the beneficiaries, by transferring funds to banks on May 11 and 12, 2024, which is very close to date of polling, that is May 13. It may overlap with "Silence Period" under Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act 1951,” the official said.
The EC told the court that it had no objection, if the government credited the money into the accounts of beneficiaries after the completion of polling on May 13.