The justice of Sanjiv Khanna said that the bill does not meet the basic objective of a reduction in the paralysis of policy caused by different electoral cycles in different countries and Lok Sabha. File | Photo Credit: PTI
The proposed legislation for current elections to Lok Sabha and the State Assembly awards the election commission “unlimited discretion”, former main judge of India Sanjiv Khanna on Tuesday (August 19, 2025) told the common parliamentary committee (JPC).
The Committee, headed by MP BJP and the leader of PP Chaudhary, reviews the Institute (one hundred and twenty ninth supplement), 2024, commonly called One Nation, one election law.
Khanna is the fifth former main judge of India, who emphasized this problem by the proposed legislation. Before him, Judge Uu Lalit, justice Ranjan Gogoi, justice Jagdish Singh Kehar and the Justice Dy Chandrachud also pointed out various legal weaknesses in the proposed legislation.
The Committee had a three -hour meeting where members asked for all aspects of justice of Khann.
The bill on the Constitution (129. Amendment), 2024, proposes to insert Article 82a and clauses into Articles 83 and 172 of the Constitution.
“LiBO -clause”
The judiciary Khanna stated that the provisions of 5 of the proposed Article 82a “grant unlimited discretion” to the Indian Election Commission (ECI) to decide when the elections to the Legislative Assembly can not be made together with the elections of Lok Sabha. “This clause will be open to the question as a violation and insulting the basic structure of the Constitution on the basis of arbitrary and offensive Article 14 of the Constitution,” he noted in his written submission, which he also explained on Tuesday (August 19, 2025).
He also claimed that this clause gives the powers of ECI and the government beyond what was expected in Article 356 of the Constitution. “The postponement of ECI elections can lead to the indirect president’s government – in other words, the government of the Union has taken over the reins of the state government. It will be judgmental, because violations of the federal structure presumed by the constitution,” Khanna justice said.
Khanna’s justice said that the bill does not meet the basic objective of reducing the paralysis of policy caused by different electoral cycles in different countries and Lok Sabha. Answered the members of the members. According to sources, he claimed that the model code of behavior would come into play whenever elections to the State Legislative Assembly of early abolition; Therefore, it defeats the purpose for which the legislation has been subjected to.
Mr. Chaudhary, chairman of the panel, told Hindu that the committee will now meet economists to evaluate the financial consequences of the proposed legislation. The government claimed that the legislation would significantly reduce expenses.
Published – August 19, 2025 22:07
