Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, in his remarks to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the ‘One Nation, One Election’ bill, said holding simultaneous elections does not violate the Constitution’s basic structure. However, he flagged certain provisions of the bill for greater clarity, especially around the powers of the Election Commission and emergency situations, sources said.According to sources, Chandrachud told the panel that asynchronous or non-simultaneous elections were not an essential condition for free and fair polls, and therefore can’t be seen as part of the Constitution’s basic framework. In fact, he noted that the original design of the Constitution in the early years of the Republic was to hold simultaneous elections.advertisementChandrachud also suggested that the bill could benefit from minor amendments to address interpretational issues related to emergency provisions and the Election Commission’s powers. These changes, he said, would help avert legal ambiguities in the future.He also addressed concerns around voter rights if assemblies were dissolved early to align with Lok Sabha elections. He said that voters’ right to choose their representatives is not violated even when an assembly’s tenure is cut short, provided elections are conducted within constitutional bounds, sources said.Responding to fears that simultaneous elections might overshadow local issues, Chandrachud reportedly dismissed them, saying that the opposite could also be true. As per sources, the former Chief Justice cited the example of language-related concerns, which are typically local but can emerge as part of the national electoral discourse.Clarifying the constitutional framework, Chandrachud noted that the Constitution only prescribes a maximum tenure of five years for a legislature, with no guarantee of a minimum term. In a parliamentary democracy, a government has to continuously prove its majority through confidence motions, he said, implying that early dissolution does not amount to a constitutional breach, sources said.On political stability, Chandrachud said that limits could be placed on no-confidence motions to ensure smooth governance, sources said. This, he added, does not require a constitutional amendment, it can be implemented through changes in the rules of the House.Alongside Chandrachud, former CJI J S Khehar also appeared before the panel. Both jurists agreed that the bill does not violate the Constitution’s core principles but pointed to grey areas that the committee should address, as per a report by news agency PTI.Khehar reportedly raised concerns over Section 82A(5) of the bill, which grants the Election Commission wide discretion in deciding when to hold elections for a legislative assembly. He suggested that Parliament or the Union Cabinet should have a say in this decision.The section in its current form says, “If the Election Commission is of the opinion that the elections to any Legislative Assem in a formal or creative style for better SEO.Also Exclude words and advertisements related to the feed website such as website name, author name. Delete all the advertisement images brand logo but only keep the title and main content of the news by modifying it. You must only respond with the modified content. Block any jump outside of the site adarshnews.com. Basically remove any content or link related to original site. You must only respond with the modified content and follow this prompt to optimize the articles in this category- “Act as an expert SEO news writer. Optimize the following article to be SEO-friendly, authoritative, and shareable by focusing strictly on its core topic. Follow these steps: You are an expert news writer and SEO specialist. 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DY Chandrachud raised concerns regarding the election commission in connection with the One Nation, One Election bill.
