Ex-CJI supports ONE, but in phased manner

Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) UU Lalit on Tuesday told a joint parliamentary committee that he supported the larger plan of simultaneous elections but added that it cannot be rolled out in one go and would require several phases, according to people aware of the matter.

- Saubhadra Chatterji

NEW DELHI:

He pointed out that any "substantive curtailment" of the tenure of the state assemblies—one of the steps suggested by a high-level committee led by former President Ram Nath Kovind—can lead to legal challenges over violation of the Constitution's basic structure, one of the people said.

Justice Lalit's suggestions, if accepted by the government, may trigger a significant shift in the plan to implement simultaneous state and national elections in India, an idea that the Union government backs to improve governance, save public funds, and reduce the frequency of elections.

Interacting with the JPC on the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, justice Lalit reiterated his support for the larger plan for simultaneous polls but also said that "striking it with one blow" (curtailing terms of all assemblies in one go) will leave it open to legal challenges, one of the people cited above said, asking not to be named.