‘Not against Constitution’, Ex-CJI Chandrachud defends One Nation, One Poll but warns of EC powers

New Delhi: In a significant development, former Chief Justices of India — including DY Chandrachud, Ranjan Gogoi, JS Khehar and UU Lalit — have submitted opinions to a parliamentary committee examining the ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) proposal. While none of them questioned the constitutionality of synchronising Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, they raised important caveats and concerns.

Justice DY Chandrachud, in his written submission, dismissed the argument that staggered elections are a part of the Constitution’s basic structure. He stated that the Constitution does not mandate national and state elections be held separately. According to him, the claim that simultaneous polls would violate federalism or voter rights was based on flawed assumptions.

However, Chandrachud, along with his predecessors Ranjan Gogoi and J.S. Khehar, raised alarms over the sweeping powers proposed for the Election Commission in the Bill. Chandrachud warned that such unchecked authority could allow the EC to extend or curtail Assembly terms arbitrarily under the pretext of aligning election cycles, unless clearly defined conditions are laid out in the law.

Justice U.U. Lalit previously told the panel that rolling out simultaneous elections should be done in phases, not abruptly, especially where elected Assemblies have substantial time left in their term. He said abrupt termination of such terms could be legally challenged.

Another major issue raised by the former CJIs is the disadvantage that smaller or regional parties might face. Justice Chandrachud warned that simultaneous polls could deepen inequality in campaign resources and skew the playing field in favour of national parties. He recommended stricter regulations on party expenditures and campaign financing.

He also pointed out that a government elected mid-term and lasting less than a year would be severely limited, with the Model Code of Conduct likely to affect most of its tenure.

All three former CJIs are expected to appear before the parliamentary committee headed by BJP MP PP Chaudhary on July 11, where MPs will directly interact with them over these legal and procedural issues.

Their combined endorsement of the concept, coupled with serious concerns on execution and fairness, adds legal heft to the ongoing political and constitutional debate over ‘One Nation, One Poll’.