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Ranjan Gogoi, a member of the Rajya Sabha and former Chief Justice of India, warned a Joint Committee of Parliament on Tuesday about the constitutional validity of certain clauses of the two Bills on simultaneous elections.
It has been observed that Gogoi expressed some scepticism about a provision in the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, which seeks to coordinate the Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections by amending three articles of the Constitution and adding a new one, Article 82A.
According to reports, Gogoi stated that Article 82A (5) may not pass the constitutional test and grants the Election Commission excessive authority when he appeared before the committee as part of its consultations with legal and constitutional experts.
The provision allows the EC to choose not to hold an Assembly election along with the Lok Sabha election. “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,” the proposed Article 82A (5) says.
In front of the committee, former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon also shared his thoughts on the matter. The committee heard from former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit at its most recent meeting on February 25. It has been reported that Lalit expressed worries about potential legal problems resulting from reducing the terms of assemblies.
According to the Bill, the President would announce the "appointed date" for the Lok Sabha's first session following a general election, and any state assemblies elected after this date would also have their terms ended. This would shorten the tenure of most Assemblies, clearing the path for simultaneous elections, Indian Express reported.
On December 17, 2024, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal introduced two bills in the Lok Sabha, which were referred to a joint committee. One is a Constitution Amendment Bill to coordinate the terms of the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, while the other is a consequential Bill to alter relevant Acts for Union Territories and the National Capital Territory of Delhi to allow for simultaneous polling.
According to Chaudhary, a website presentation has been scheduled for panel members, and an advertisement will be issued inviting memoranda from throughout the country on simultaneous elections. He stated that elections were held simultaneously across the country from 1952 to 1967 when the cycle was disrupted. According to the BJP leader, demands for simultaneous elections have been made since the 1980s.
In October 2023, the Law Ministry created a high-level committee headed by former President Ram Nath Kovind to make recommendations on how to hold simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha, State and UT Assemblies, and local bodies.
In March last year, the committee delivered its report to President Droupadi Murmu, recommending revisions to allow simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and Assemblies in the first phase, followed by local bodies.
While the administration introduced the bills for the first phase, it has yet to make a decision on synching local body elections.