Singhvi, 3 experts to depose before Parl panel on ONOE

The joint parliamentary committee on One Nation, One Election is expected to meet four legal experts, including Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi, on April 22, a circular issued by the Lok Sabha on Sunday showed, as the committee prepares to submit its report on simultaneous polls in monsoon session in July.

The JPC, led by Bharatiya Janata Party parliamentarian PP Chaudhary, has invited former Supreme Court judge Hemant Gupta, former chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir high court SN Jha, and former Supreme Court judge and chairman of the 21st Law Commission justice BS Chauhan, apart from Singhvi, the circular showed.

While the invitation to Singhvi will likely boost the Opposition’s stance with the Congress leader having publicly expressed his opposition to the Bill earlier, his deposition will also come in handy for the ruling dispensation to underline that all shades of opinions were considered for drafting the report.

Singhvi said, “It is a privilege and an honour to depose before the Joint Committee on ONOE. I will speak as an expert. It shows how hard our panels work to prepare it’s reports.”

The committee is mandated to examine the bills on simultaneous polls — the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill — and give its report on whether they are sound enough for the purpose or need changes.

According to Parliamentary records, the JPC has held six meetings since it was formed in the winter session.

From former Chief Justices of India to noted lawyers — the panel invited a slew of experts to speak on the bill. While a large number of experts have supported the bill, most of them questioned the excessive power given to the Election Commission in the bill, HT reported.

Former CJIs UU Lalit and Ranjan Gogoi, and senior advocate Harish Salve have warned against the unrestricted power of the Election Commission as proposed in the Constitution Amendment Bill, people aware of the matter said.

Lalit, one of the first jurists to appear before the panel, said that massive curtailment of any assembly session to sync it with other assembly and Lok Sabha polls can violate the basic structure of the Constitution, people quoted above said.

On March 11, former CJI Gogoi also voiced similar concerns and said the EC has been given “excessive power” through the new article, the people added.

Salve also expressed serious concern over the power given by the proposed law to EC under the new Article 82A that allows EC to decide whether polls can be conducted or not and also suggest President’s rule in the absence of polls, people quoted above said.

Salve questioned how the EC can be given the power to decide against conducting an election, functionaries aware of the details said.

Singhvi, on the other hand, has publicly said that the Bill needs ratification from states as it deals with curtailing their assembly terms.

When asked during an interview to HT last year that Article 368 does not mention that amendments to Article 82 need to be approved by the majority of states, Singhvi said, “A state ratification of this supposed constitutional amendment is mandatory as I’m altering the state cycle of elections. I’m affecting regional parties.”

According to some members of the panel, the JPC will try to submit the report in the monsoon session of Parliament. After the panel’s report on the Constitution Amendment and the UT bill is tabled in the House, roads are clear for the government to push the bill in Parliament.