P Chidambaram dubs one nation, one poll 'monstrous'; Vidhi Centre flags constitutional risks
The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) examining the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and the Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 — the legislative package for "One Nation, One Election" (simultaneous elections) — held further sessions to hear submissions from legal experts and think tanks.
The Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy submitted views calling for significant changes to the proposed framework, including defined and objective grounds for deferring or countermanding state elections.
The think tank flagged that curtailing the tenure of a state legislature to synchronise it with Lok Sabha elections could conflict with the Constitution's basic structure, and that provisions allowing the Election Commission or Union Government administrative discretion over synchronisation could amount to an impermissible delegation of Parliament's constituent (amending) power.
The JPC, headed by a Lok Sabha MP, will examine all such submissions before finalising its recommendations on the Bills.
The Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024
This Bill operationalises "One Nation, One Election" by inserting new Article 82A to synchronise Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections, and by amending Articles 83, 172 and 327. It was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024 and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee for detailed examination — the standard route for high-stakes constitutional amendment bills requiring broad political consensus.
Key Details
- Article 82A(1) empowers the President to notify an "appointed date" (after a general election) from which simultaneous elections take effect; Article 82A(2) provides that all State Assembly terms elected after that date end concurrently with the Lok Sabha's five-year term, regardless of when they individually began.
- Article 83 (duration of Houses of Parliament) and Article 172 (duration of State Legislatures) are amended to align with the synchronised cycle; Article 327 (Parliament's power to make election-related laws) is amended to explicitly cover "conduct of simultaneous elections."
- The JPC reviewing the Bills has representation from both Houses of Parliament and was constituted after the Bills were referred following their Lok Sabha introduction in December 2024.
The submissions being examined by the JPC concern precisely these provisions — how mid-term dissolution, President's Rule, or a hung Assembly would be handled without either extending a state's term arbitrarily or forcing fresh elections outside the synchronised cycle.
Basic Structure Doctrine
The basic structure doctrine holds that Parliament's amending power under Article 368 cannot be used to alter or destroy certain foundational features of the Constitution, even though it can amend any specific provision. It was laid down by the Supreme Court's 13-judge bench in Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973), decided by a narrow 7:6 majority.
Key Details
- Kesavananda Bharati (1973) held Parliament can amend any part of the Constitution, including fundamental rights, but not its "basic structure."
- Features judicially recognised as part of the basic structure include federalism, democracy, separation of powers, judicial review, free and fair elections, and rule of law — federalism and democratic accountability of state legislatures are the features invoked in the ONOE debate.
- The doctrine has since been used to strike down constitutional amendments (e.g., parts of the 42nd Amendment in Minerva Mills v. Union of India, 1980) that were found to disturb this basic structure.
Critics argue that curtailing a sitting state legislature's five-year term (guaranteed under Article 172) to align with the Lok Sabha cycle could dilute federalism and the electorate's mandate — a basic structure concern — which is why the JPC is examining objective, judicially reviewable criteria for any such curtailment rather than open-ended executive discretion.
Delegated Legislation and Parliament's Constituent Power
Delegated (or subordinate) legislation is law-making authority Parliament confers on the executive or another body to fill in procedural details of a statute. It becomes constitutionally problematic when the delegation covers "essential legislative functions" — matters Parliament alone must decide, such as the scope of its own constituent (amendment) power under Article 368.
Key Details
- The doctrine against "excessive delegation" was established in cases such as In re Delhi Laws Act (1951), which held that Parliament cannot delegate its essential legislative or constituent functions.
- Constituent power (the power to amend the Constitution) is distinct from ordinary legislative power and is exercised only by Parliament following the special procedure in Article 368, not by the executive or an independent body like the Election Commission acting on its own discretion.
- Vidhi Centre's critique centers on granting the Election Commission or Union Executive wide discretion over deferring/advancing elections or determining the "appointed date," without Parliament itself specifying the objective triggers in the Bill's text.
If the final law leaves the timing and conditions of the synchronised-election cycle to administrative discretion rather than Parliament-specified criteria, it risks being read as an impermissible delegation of a constituent function — one of the core objections raised before the JPC.
- Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill, 2024 and Union Territories Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 were introduced in the Lok Sabha in December 2024 and referred to a Joint Parliamentary Committee.
- New Article 82A is proposed to be inserted; Articles 83, 172 and 327 are proposed to be amended.
- Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (1973) — 13-judge bench, 7:6 majority, established the basic structure doctrine.
- A constitutional amendment under Article 368 requires a special majority (two-thirds of members present and voting, and a majority of total membership) in each House; amendments affecting federal provisions additionally require ratification by at least half the state legislatures.