Former CJI Gavai deposes before parliamentary panel on simultaneous polls; says concept within constitutional framework
Gavai is the sixth former Chief Justice of India to have deposed before the Parliamentary Joint Committee
Former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Thursday expressed confidence in the concept of simultaneous elections, saying that it falls well within the constitutional framework.
Deposing before the Parliamentary Joint Committee reviewing the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024, which aims to synchronise elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, Gavai said Parliament is competent to enact a law facilitating simultaneous polls.
The committee is headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary.
Significantly, he is learnt to have informed the committee that since the “no-confidence motion” instrument remains untouched, the accountability of the Central or state governments would remain intact.
Gavai is the sixth former Chief Justice of India to have deposed before the panel. While four former CJIs, including Gavai, Ranjan Gogoi, DY Chandrachud and JS Khehar, have stated that the concept of simultaneous elections does not violate the constitutional framework, the other two, namely Sanjiv Khanna and UU Lalit, have expressed reservation about the proposed bills, saying that it is in contravention of the Constitution’s basic structure.
However, the unrestricted powers to the Election Commission under the proposed legislation, especially regarding finalising the schedule of elections, has been an area of concern among the former CJIs.
