Ex-CJI Gogoi flags clause on power of EC in One Nation One Election Bill

Ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi questions Article 82A(5) of the new bill that grants excessive power to the Election Commission to decide if an Assembly election should be separate from the Lok Sabha polls

Former Chief Justice of India and member of Rajya Sabha, Ranjan Gogoi raised concerns about the Constitutional validity of certain provisions in the bills on simultaneous elections.

 

According to a report by The Indian Express, during a meeting with the Joint Committee of Parliament on Tuesday, Gogoi expressed doubts over a clause in the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, also known as ‘One Nation One Election’, which seeks to amend three articles of the Constitution and introduce a new Article 82A to synchronise Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections.

 

The report mentioned that the Gogoi specifically questioned Article 82A (5), which grants the Election Commission (EC) the power to decide whether a particular Assembly election should be held separately from the Lok Sabha election. 

 

May fail constitutional test

 

The clause states, “If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the elections to any Legislative Assembly cannot be conducted along with the general election to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date.”

 

Gogoi reportedly pointed out that this clause could be interpreted in two different ways and may not pass the Constitutional test and said that it gives excessive power to the Election Commission.

 

Alongside Gogoi, former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon also shared his views with the committee.  Also Read: Parliament LIVE updates

 

Concerns over shortened Assembly terms

 

The committee had previously heard from former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit on February 25, who had then raised concerns about possible legal challenges arising from reduced term length of Assemblies. According to the Bill, the President of India would declare an ‘appointed date’ at the first sitting of the new Lok Sabha. Any state Assembly elected after this date would have its term end along with the Lok Sabha, leading to shortened Assembly terms to allow simultaneous elections.

 

Background of the bills

 

Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced the two bills in the Lok Sabha on December 17, 2024. One bill seeks to amend the Constitution to synchronise Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections. The second bill aims to amend laws concerning Union Territories and Delhi to enable simultaneous elections there.

 

Public consultations to begin

 

Furthermore, the Joint Committee is set to launch a website to gather public feedback on the Bills. Committee chairman and BJP leader P P Chaudhary told The Indian Express, “The panel is working with full transparency and wants to ensure that everyone gets an opportunity to share their views on the issue of simultaneous polls.”

 

A presentation on the website was held for committee members, and an advertisement will soon be issued inviting suggestions from people across the country.

 

Chaudhary noted that elections were held simultaneously in India from 1952 to 1967 before the cycle was disrupted. “There have been demands from various quarters since the 1980s to restore simultaneous elections,” he said.

 

High-level committee report

 

In October 2023, the Law Ministry had formed a high-level committee under former President Ram Nath Kovind to examine how simultaneous elections could be implemented. The committee submitted its report to President Droupadi Murmu in March last year, recommending amendments to enable simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections in the first phase, followed by local body elections later. While the government has introduced bills for the first phase, a decision on syncing local body elections is still pending.