Supreme Court cancels proposed meeting with One Nation, One Election panel
The Supreme Court on Thursday cancelled a proposed October 6 interaction between the Chief Justice of India, other judges and the Joint Committee examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, on simultaneous elections, saying it may not be “expedient or desirable” to discuss the issue on the administrative side.
In an official communication to the parliamentary panel, the Supreme Court said senior judges had considered the proposal and were of the view that the proposed constitutional amendment could become a subject of judicial review before the court.
“The proposed meeting is accordingly cancelled,” the communication said.
The Election Commission had reportedly sought an “informal interaction”, described as a “Local Study Visit”, with the CJI and other judges in an email on September 28. The request was routed through the Department of Legislative Affairs of the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The parliamentary committee is chaired by BJP MP and former law minister P P Chaudhary. Chaudhary had said the proposed visit was not intended to discuss the Bill, but to familiarise committee members with the Supreme Court and its library.
Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal had objected to the proposed interaction, arguing that sitting judges could eventually hear a challenge to the legislation’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 assemblies. The Bills were referred to a joint committee in December 2024. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted the 39-member panel, whose tenure was extended in July to the first day of the last week of the Winter Session.
Four former Chief Justices of India, J S Khehar, Ranjan Gogoi, D Y Chandrachud and U U Lalit, have appeared before the committee over the past year. They indicated that the proposal could pass constitutional scrutiny after the required amendments, while flagging the extensive powers proposed for the Election Commission.