New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that the practice of distributing freebies before elections is an "important" matter to be considered, as it agreed to give priority to the listing of petitions that seek recall of a 2013 top court decision which held that such acts do not amount to "bribery". A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, "This is a very important matter.Distribution of state largesse to people is distinct from allocation of state largesse for public welfare." The observation came on a petition related to political freebies mentioned by advocate Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. He said that Section 123 of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1951 classifies "bribery" as a corrupt practice but fails to hold freebies to be part of corrupt practice. Upadhyay claimed India's total national debt has gone over Rs.200 lakh crore and political parties are splurging public funds to induce voters by promising them gold chains, TVs, cash and liquor bottles in exchange for their votes. The bench observed, "State has a right to formulate policies for public welfare, for instance free medical facility or free education... Why shouldn't there be a committed share of the state budget for development purposes, such as construction of hospitals, roads...." The court wondered that if the state can boast of having surplus funds to spend on freebies, they should allocate the same for development purposes....