One Nation, One Election: Supreme Court cancels meeting with parliamentary panel - The Indian Express

Underlining that it may not be “expedient or desirable” to discuss the issue, the Supreme Court on Thursday declined a proposed October 6 interaction between the Chief Justice of India and other judges and the Joint Committee examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, on simultaneous elections, referred to as ‘One Nation, One Election’.

“They are of the opinion that as the proposed amendment might become a subject matter of Judicial Review before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it may not be expedient or desirable to discuss the issue on the administrative side. The proposed meeting is accordingly cancelled. Inconvenience is regretted,” the Supreme Court’s official communication to the panel stated.

It is learnt that the Election Commission had sought an “informal interaction” which it termed as a “Local Study Visit” with the CJI and other judges in an email on September 28. The request was reportedly routed through the Department of Legislative Affairs of the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The Supreme Court responded through the Secretary General’s Office, informing the Legislative Department that “senior Judges” had discussed the proposal.

The parliamentary committee on simultaneous polls is chaired by BJP MP and former law minister P P Chaudhary. Chaudhary had earlier told The Indian Express that the meeting was not meant to discuss the Bill. He said the visit was meant to “familiarise members with the Supreme Court, including its library”, as some had never been there.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, among others, had raised objections to the proposed meeting. He said the panel was to meet the Chief Justice and other judges on October 6. He said the discussion was to last about an hour and a half. Sibal called the plan “a joke on the Constitution”. His objection was to an interaction with sitting judges, who could eventually rule on the law’s constitutionality.

The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, seek to enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies. They were referred to a joint committee in December 2024. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted the 39-member panel.

In July, the Lok Sabha extended the committee’s tenure to the first day of the last week of the Winter Session. Over the last year, four former Chief Justices of India – J S Khehar, Ranjan Gogoi, D Y Chandrachud and U U Lalit have appeared before the committee. It is learnt that all four indicated that the simultaneous polls plan is likely to pass constitutional muster after the required amendments to the Constitution, but they flagged the vast powers the Election Commission would have under the proposed law.

Apurva Vishwanath is the National Legal Editor at The Indian Express, where she leads the organization’s coverage of the Indian judiciary, constitutional law, and public policy. A law graduate with a B.A., LL.B (Hons) from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Apurva brings over a decade of specialized experience to her reporting. She is an authority on judicial appointments and the Supreme Court Collegium, providing critical analysis of the country’s legal landscape. Before joining The Indian Express in 2019, she honed her expertise at The Print and Mint. Follow her insights on the intersection of law and governance on Twitter ... Read More