Four former Chief Justices of India (CJIs) who were consulted by the High Level Committee chaired by former President of India Ram Nath Kovind on the proposal for simultaneous elections (One Nation, One Election) have expressed their support for its implementation.
Former CJIs Dipak Misra, Ranjan Gogoi, Sharad Arvind Bobde and UU Lalit participated in personal consultations and submitted written responses, all expressing support for simultaneous elections.
On September 18, the Union Cabinet accepted the recommendations of the High-Level Committee led by the former President on simultaneous elections.
The Committee proposed holding simultaneous elections for the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies as the initial step, followed by municipal and panchayat elections within 100 days of the general election in the next phase.
As per the report, in a letter dated February 28, former CJI Misra emphasised that the claims of simultaneous elections being 'against the basic structure', 'federalism', or 'anti-democratic' are unfounded.
Supporting the scheme, former CJI Gogoi highlighted several advantages, including cost efficiency, administrative simplification, enhanced voter engagement, and lesser influence of money and muscle power.
Gogoi also proposed the need for constitutional amendments and suggested implementation strategies such as consensus-building, the creation of a suitable legislative framework, and increased voter awareness campaigns.
Former CJI Bobde met Kovind in February this year and expressed his view that concerns about simultaneous elections violating the basic structure, federalism, or democratic principles are misplaced.
Further, the 49th CJI Lalit highlighted the potential of simultaneous polls to improve the electoral process, uphold democratic principles, and lower public expenditure.
He pointed out that frequent elections disrupt decision-making and development due to the repeated enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct.
Former Supreme Court judge, Justice Hemant Gupta, who was also consulted, stated that he fully supported the concept and initiative of simultaneous elections.
He highlighted that to make simultaneous elections successful, it is essential to organise campaigns for mobilising public support, awareness, and education.
As per the report, of the twelve former High Court judges that were consulted, nine supported the idea of simultaneous elections, while three expressed concerns and objections.
Those who raised objections to the implementation of simultaneous elections include former Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah; former Calcutta High Court judge, Justice Girish Chandra Gupta and former Madras High Court Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee.
While opposing the scheme, Justice Shah highlighted concerns that such elections could curtail democratic expression and lead to distorted voting patterns and state-level political changes.
Additionally, he argued that simultaneous elections could undermine political accountability, as fixed terms provide representatives with undue stability without sufficient scrutiny of their performance, thus challenging democratic principles.
Justice Gupta stated that the concept of simultaneous elections is not conducive to democratic principles.
Justice Banerjee cited concerns that the move would undermine India's federal structure and be detrimental to regional issues.
He referred to empirical data on frequent mid-term state elections, emphasising the importance of allowing people to exercise their choices. He instead suggested that state funding of elections could be a more effective reform to address corruption and inefficiency.
The former Chief Justices of High Courts who supported simultaneous elections are:
Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Gorla Rohini
Former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale
Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Rajendra Menon
Former Rajasthan and Bombay High Court Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog
Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice DN Patel
Former Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Sanjay Yadav
Former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Prakash Shrivastava
Former Madras High Court Chief Justice MN Bhandari
Former Bombay High Court Justice RD Dhanuka
In 2019, the Law Commission of India had thrown its weight behind the proposal to have simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state legislative assemblies.
Notably, in its manifesto for the 2024 General Election, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) promised to implement One Nation One Election if it came to power.
In January this year, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice in a press release had stated that 81% of the respondents to the Central government's notice on whether simultaneous elections should be implemented were in favour of the idea.