Overview
- Appearing on February 12, Justice B.R. Gavai told the Joint Parliamentary Committee that the One Nation One Election amendment would not violate the Constitution’s basic structure of federalism and democracy.
- He said accountability would remain intact because tools like the no-confidence motion persist, and he cited Parliament’s power to amend the Constitution along with the pre-1967 history of concurrent polls.
- The panel is examining two measures introduced on December 17, 2024—the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Ninth Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024—to align Lok Sabha and State/UT Assembly elections.
- Former CJIs are divided, with U.U. Lalit and Sanjiv Khanna questioning basic-structure compliance, and Ranjan Gogoi, D.Y. Chandrachud, J.S. Khehar, and B.R. Gavai supporting the amendment’s constitutionality.
- Unresolved issues persist, including concern across former CJIs over expanded Election Commission scheduling powers, a suggestion to adopt a common electoral roll, and the JPC chair’s push for early implementation citing time and cost savings.