SC disposes of 2009 PIL against installation of Mayawati’s statues
During the brief hearing, the bench also observed that with the additional expenditure required to remove these statues, using public funds for such an act would not be prudent
In a respite for Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati, the Supreme Court on Wednesday drew the curtains on a 2009 public interest litigation (PIL) seeking reimbursement of public funds allegedly spent on erecting statues of Mayawati and the BSP’s party symbol, the elephant, in public spaces across Uttar Pradesh when she was the chief minister. The development came on the day Mayawati turned 69.
A bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Satish Chandra Sharma noted that the petition had become infructuous due to the passage of time and other intervening developments, including measures adopted by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The court took note of an ECI circular that barred political parties from using public funds or government resources for activities amounting to party promotion or electioneering.
During the brief hearing, the bench also observed that with the additional expenditure required to remove these statues, using public funds for such an act would not be prudent.
“Destruction of these structures would require additional public money. You want them to be razed, but that would not serve the public interest,” the court told the petitioners, advocates Ravi Kant and Sukumar.
The PIL had alleged the misuse of over a thousand crore from the state exchequer for installing statues of Mayawati and the BSP’s symbol at public parks, including in Noida and Lucknow, during her tenure as Uttar Pradesh CM. The petition sought a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe, removal of the statues, and a freeze on the BSP’s election symbol, among other reliefs. Accusing Mayawati of using taxpayer money to glorify herself and her party, the plea argued that the expenditure violated constitutional principles and the government’s fiduciary responsibility toward the public.
During the hearing on Wednesday, ECI’s counsel Siddhant Kumar and Sahil Tagotra highlighted the directive issued by the poll panel in 2016, ordering that no political party could use public funds or government resources for promoting its election symbol or advertising itself. The lawyers informed the court that this instruction was binding and any violations would attract action under the Election Symbols (Reservation & Allotment) Order, 1986.
In 2012, ahead of the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, ECI had ordered the covering of all statues of Mayawati and the BSP’s elephant symbol, ensuring a level playing field for all political parties. Mayawati was voted out of power in that election.
The case has seen many twists and turns in the last 15 years. While admitting this matter in June 2009, the top court had underlined that the State must properly set its priorities, adding “the concerned authorities in power must realize that they are holding public money in trust and it must be judiciously spent”.
The controversy again gained prominence in February 2019 when the Supreme Court remarked that Mayawati should reimburse public money spent on their construction. In an affidavit filed in April 2019, Mayawati defended the construction of the statues, arguing that they represented the will of the people and were approved by the state legislature. She asserted that the installations were intended to honour the values and ideals of social reformers, sants, and leaders, and not to promote the BSP or herself.
While the matter was not granted any effective hearing in the last five years, Ravi Kant and Sukumar had also petitioned ECI seeking punitive measures, including a freeze on the BSP’s election symbol and disqualification of Mayawati from contesting elections. However, ECI, in a 2017 ruling, clarified that while such acts invite action against political parties under its guidelines, retrospective action could not be taken for decisions made by Mayawati in 2009-10.
While the petition initially sparked heated debates over the use of public funds for political promotion, the apex court’s decision on Wednesday to close the matter signals the end of a decade-long controversy surrounding Mayawati’s statues and their political implications.
