EC can hold bypolls any time within 6 months after vacancy, say experts, Pg9

Key Highlights:

• The Election Commission (EC) announced by-elections for three Assembly seats in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat.
• Currently, 14 Assembly seats and six Parliamentary seats (three each in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) are vacant across the country.
• The Representation of the People Act (RPA) mandates that bypolls must be held within six months of a seat falling vacant.
• The EC holds discretionary power to decide the specific timing of by-elections within this six-month window.
• Exceptions to the six-month rule include a remaining term of less than one year, EC certification of difficulty, or a pending election petition.

Detailed Insights:

• The EC's scheduling of by-elections has drawn criticism from opposition parties, citing both perceived "hurry" and "delay" in different instances.
• For instance, a bypoll for Madhya Pradesh's Datia Assembly seat was scheduled despite a pending legal challenge against the incumbent's disqualification.
• Legal experts affirm that the EC can proceed with bypolls unless a court explicitly grants a stay on the election process.
• A bypoll for Uttar Pradesh's Milkipur seat was delayed until February 2025 due to a pending election petition in the Allahabad High Court.
• The Supreme Court, in the Election Commission of India v. Telangana Rashtra Samithi case, ruled that a seat cannot be considered available for a bypoll if the validity of its previous election is under challenge.
• This judicial interpretation ensures that a by-election does not become redundant if an election petition later declares a different candidate as duly elected.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Election Commission (EC): An autonomous constitutional body responsible for administering election processes in India.
• Representation of the People Act (RPA): A parliamentary act that governs the conduct of elections to the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures.
• Bypolls: Elections held to fill vacancies that arise in legislative bodies due to resignation, death, or disqualification of a member.
• Election Petition: A legal challenge filed in a High Court to dispute the validity of an election result.