The 129th Constitution Amendment Bill, which seeks to introduce simultaneous polls, states that the EC will decide whether simultaneous polls are feasible.Appearing before the Joint Committee of Parliament on ‘One Nation, One Election’ (ONOE) Bill, four former Chief Justices of India have red-flagged the vast powers that the Election Commission holds in the proposed law for holding simultaneous polls.It is learnt that on Friday former CJIs J S Khehar and D Y Chandrachud expressed doubts whether the power of EC to decide if simultaneous polls can be delayed for a state is constitutionally permissible. Both are learnt to have underlined that holding simultaneous polls itself is constitutional and would not violate the basic structure of the Constitution.However, it is learnt that Justice Chandrachud told the committee that the EC’s powers might suffer from constitutional infirmities.In March, Rajya Sabha MP and former CJI Ranjan Gogoi had also pointed out that the EC had been given unrestricted powers to decide the schedule of simultaneous polls. In February, former CJI UU Lalit had alsogiven some suggestions on various aspects, including on the power of the EC.Parliamentary committee proceedings are privileged, and details of exchanges between members during meetings are not made public.The 129th Constitution Amendment Bill, which seeks to introduce simultaneous polls, states that the EC will decide whether simultaneous polls are feasible.Story continues below this adThe proposed amendment to Article 82 of the Constitution stipulates that the “if the Election Commission is of the opinion that the elections to any Legislative Assembly cannot be conducted along with thegeneral election to the House of the People, it may make a recommendation to the President, to declare by an order, that the election to that Legislative Assembly may be conducted at a later date.”At least two former CJIs, it is learnt, have suggested amending the law to include parliamentary oversight over the EC’s power to decide the schedule. Justice Chandrachud, it is learnt, also suggested narrowing down the EC’s powers to delay the schedule only on the grounds of “public order or national security” to ensure that the power is not used arbitrarily.Broad powers in legislation without sufficient safeguards could be deemed arbitrary by courts and be held violative of the right to equality under Article 14 of the Constitution.Apurva Vishwanath is the National Legal Editor of The Indian Express in New Delhi. She graduated with a B.A., LL. B (Hons) from Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow. She joined the newspaper in 2019 and in her current role, oversees the newspapers coverage of legal issues. She also closely tracks judicial appointments. Prior to her role at the Indian Express, she has worked with ThePrint and Mint. ... Read More© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:One Nation One Election