New Delhi, Dec. 9 -- The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on a petition challenging his election in the 2023 assembly elections for allegedly promising freebies in his party manifesto.

A bench of justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice on the petition filed by K Shankara, a voter in Siddaramaiah's constituency Varuna, who alleged that such pre-poll promises seeks to disturb the level playing field during elections and amounts to a "corrupt practice" -- a ground provided under the Representation of People Act, 1951 (RPA) to challenge the election of a winning candidate.

The bench was apprehensive if this could be a ground to contest an election, saying, "How can a declarati...