Overview

• The 39-member committee is examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and a related Union Territories bill to enable concurrent Lok Sabha and State elections.
• Justice Sanjiv Khanna told members that Clause 5 of proposed Article 82A grants the Election Commission broad postponement powers that could be arbitrary and offend Article 14.
• He warned that such postponements risk creating indirect President’s Rule, raising federalism concerns beyond what Article 356 envisages.
• Khanna said the plan may not curb policy paralysis because the Model Code of Conduct would still kick in after premature dissolutions, and he suggested fixes such as a fixed appointment date in the Bill.
• P.P. Chaudhary said Khanna did not deem the proposal unconstitutional overall and noted the panel will hear economists on costs, as earlier former CJIs had also flagged legal gaps.