Overview

• Former chief justices J S Khehar and D Y Chandrachud affirmed that synchronising Lok Sabha and state polls does not violate the Constitution’s basic structure
• Both jurists cautioned that the bill currently grants the Election Commission broad discretion to postpone elections without clear guidelines or parliamentary oversight
• They pinpointed multiple vaguely worded clauses that could invite legal challenges and urged Parliament to refine the amendment’s language
• Chandrachud recommended limiting poll delays to national security or public order situations and requiring both Houses of Parliament to ratify any postponement
• The judges flagged gaps around Emergency extensions and premature assembly dissolutions, calling for explicit rules to preserve term synchronisation