Supreme Court Declines Meeting With ‘One Nation, One Election’ Panel

The Supreme Court has declined a proposed meeting between the Chief Justice of India, other judges and the parliamentary committee examining the ‘One Nation, One Election’ legislation, citing the possibility that the amendments could eventually come before it for judicial review.

The interaction was scheduled for October 6. In a communication issued on Thursday, the court said senior judges had considered the proposal and decided against discussing the matter on the administrative side, The Indian Express reported.

“They are of the opinion that as the proposed amendment might become a subject matter of Judicial Review before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, it may not be expedient or desirable to discuss the issue on the administrative side. The proposed meeting is accordingly cancelled. Inconvenience is regretted,” the communication stated.

The Election Commission reportedly sought the “informal interaction” in a September 28 email, describing it as a “Local Study Visit”. The request was routed through the Department of Legislative Affairs in the Ministry of Law and Justice.

The Supreme Court’s Secretary General’s Office informed the Legislative Department of the judges’ decision.

The joint committee is examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024, and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024. Together, the Bills seek to enable simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.

Committee chairman P P Chaudhary, a BJP MP and former law minister, had earlier told The Indian Express that the proposed visit was not intended to discuss the legislation. Its purpose, he said, was to “familiarise members with the Supreme Court, including its library”, since some members had never visited it.

The plan nevertheless drew objections from Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Kapil Sibal, among others. Sibal said the committee was scheduled to interact with the Chief Justice and other judges for about an hour and a half on October 6.

Calling the proposal “a joke on the Constitution”, he questioned an interaction with sitting judges who could later be called upon to decide whether the legislation was constitutional.

Both Bills were referred to a joint committee in December 2024. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted the 39-member panel, whose tenure was extended in July until the first day of the last week of the Winter Session.

Four former Chief Justices of India — J S Khehar, Ranjan Gogoi, DY Chandrachud and UU Lalit — have appeared before the committee over the past year.

All four reportedly indicated that the simultaneous elections proposal was likely to withstand constitutional scrutiny once the necessary amendments were made. They also flagged the extensive powers that the proposed framework would give the Election Commission.