Ex-CJI Lalit tells parliamentary panel ONOE good idea, advises against holding it in one go: Sources
New Delhi, Feb 25 (PTI): Former Chief Justice of India U U Lalit suggested on Tuesday that simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly polls should be rolled out in not one go but in a phased manner as he shared his views with the Joint Committee of Parliament studying the two bills for 'one nation one election' (ONOE), sources said.
They added that Lalit in his remarks said the concept of simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections was a good idea but noted that the law, as envisaged by the bills, could be challenged in the apex court, and proposed some changes.
Former Law Commission of India Ritu Raj Awasthi told the 39-member committee headed by BJP MP P P Chaudhary that the proposed law does not violate the basic structure doctrine on federalism and is not against the democratic principles of the Constitution.
Justice Awasthi, who is now the judicial member of anti-corruption ombudsman Lok Pal, said the Constitution (129th Amendment) Bill had all the ingredients to hold simultaneous polls in the country.
Opposition members criticised the concept, with Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra claiming 'one nation one election' will weaken democracy by tinkering with tenure of legislatures and will impinge on people's rights, the sources said.
A BJP ally wondered if a gap of five years between two elections will weaken elected representatives' accountability to people, they added. An opposition questioned the neutrality of the Election Commission, which is constitutionally tasked with the conduct of elections.
Some members of both the ruling BJP as well as opposition parties, which have slammed the idea of 'one nation one election' (ONOE) as unconstitutional, interpreted the overall thrust of Lalit's lengthy remarks as favouring their respective stand more.
However, a senior parliamentarian said the former CJI laid out the constitutional philosophy guiding India's democratic spirit and holding of polls and its evolution through several judgements of the apex court since Independence to reflect dispassionately on the concept.
As an expert, Lalit dwelt on the both sides of the argument and at times offered his views, the MP said, noting that the he advised against implementing simultaneous Lok Sabha and assembly elections in one go.
While the jurist said that dissolution of several state assemblies before their term, in several cases when more than half of their tenure should remain, can be legally challenged, he also noted that once the law comes into force favouring it, then political parties as well as voters will know the period for which the new House will be elected.
Lalit, sources said, also appeared to agree with the view that simultaneous elections will lead to the saving of resources by ruling out the frequent enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, deployment of security forces and rescheduling exams.
He was also asked questioned by the committee's members, leaving them with little time to hear the views of two other persons - IAS officer Niten Chandra, who was secretary of the high-level Kovind committee, and E M Sudarsana Natchiappan, a senior advocate and former Congress MP who had headed in 2015 a parliamentary committee that favoured simultaneous polls.
They are now expected to share their opinion later.
The parliamentary committee had so far held two meetings, excluding Tuesday's, in which it prepared broad details of its agenda and the list of stakeholders and experts to be consulted is given.
Opposition members again insisted on Tuesday that they should be given a verbatim minutes of the previous meetings in advance.
In a written submission, the legislative department of the Union Law Ministry has told the joint committee that holding simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and state assemblies is not undemocratic and does not hurt the federal structure.
Responding to a set of queries posed by the members of the joint panel, the legislative department is learnt to have asserted that simultaneous elections were held in the past before the cycle was broken due to various reasons, including imposition of the president's rule in some states.
Sources said while the ministry answered some of the questions, some others were sent to the Election Commission for a calibrated response.
Following the adoption of the Constitution, elections to the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies were conducted simultaneously from 1951 to 1967.
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BCI urges CJI to take action against Andhra HC judge for sending young lawyer to 24-hour custody
New Delhi (PTI): The Bar Council of India on Wednesday sought the urgent intervention of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant following a "deeply disturbing" incident where a judge of the Andhra Pradesh High Court reportedly sent a young advocate to
24-hour judicial custody over a procedural lapse.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairperson and senior advocate Manan Kumar Mishra, in a formal representation, termed the conduct of Justice Tarlada Rajasekhar Rao "grossly inappropriate" and "damaging to the confidence of the Bar".
“I most respectfully request your Lordship to kindly take immediate institutional cognizance of the matter and call for the video recording of the proceedings, the order passed, and the surrounding circumstances.
“I further request that appropriate administrative action may kindly be considered, including withdrawal of judicial work from the learned Judge pending review, his immediate transfer to some far off High Court, and his nomination for appropriate judicial training/orientation on court management, judicial temperament, Bar-Bench relations, and proportional exercise of contempt/judicial authority,” Mishra wrote.
This representation is made to preserve the “dignity, moral authority and public confidence of the judiciary”, he said, adding, “Judges command the highest respect not by fear, but by fairness, patience, restraint and constitutional humility”.
The communication urged the CJI to intervene at the earliest to ensure that the faith of Bar, particularly young advocates, in the protective and corrective role of the judiciary is restored.
The controversy stems from proceedings on May 5.
According to the BCI, a video circulating online shows Justice Rao rebuking a young advocate who was unable to produce a specific order copy during a hearing.
The letter said that despite the advocate "repeatedly seeking pardon and mercy" and claiming he was in physical pain, the judge remained "unmoved".
The judge allegedly told the lawyer, "now you will learn," and mocked his experience before directing the Registrar and police personnel to take him into custody for 24 hours.
The BCI chairperson said that the judge’s actions lacked proportionality and fairness.
"The dignity of the court is not enhanced when a lawyer is made to beg for grace in open court and is still sent to custody for a procedural lapse," the letter said.
"A young lawyer... is an officer of the Court, still learning, still growing, and entitled to correction without humiliation," it added.
The bar body said that such actions create a "chilling effect" on the legal fraternity, particularly among junior members, and undermine the mutual respect required between the Bench and the Bar.
