What’s Article 329(b) invoked by EC in SC that restricts judicial intervention in poll process

CategoryPolity

Last Updated30/05/2024

Taking a “hands-off approach”, the Supreme Court adjourned an application filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO

The petition sought directions to the Election Commission (EC) to publish booth-wise voter turnout figures and to make the Form 17C vote tally records available online within 48 hours of polling for each phase of the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.
EC invoked Article 329 (b) of the Constitution to prevent the court from hearing the matter and said this provision prohibits judicial intervention in the working of the commission in the middle of the election process.

Enshrined in Part XV of the Constitution, articles 324-329 specifically discuss elections.
While Article 324 gives the poll panel powers to direct and control elections, Article 329, which has two clauses, concerns itself with the role of the judiciary in electoral matters.
Article 329 (a) says the “judiciary is not allowed to challenge the constitutionality of laws relating to the boundaries of electoral districts or the allocation of seats
- while Article 329 (b) says that any challenges to the conduct or results of elections to the Houses of Parliament or state legislatures must be made through a designated legal process that is referred to as an “election petition”.
The Constitution (19th Amendment) Act of 1966 refined clause (b) of Article 329, stipulating that election-related inquiries are exclusively addressed through election petitions presented to the authority designated by that law.
The Representation of the People Act, 1951, furthers this clause as it empowers the high courts to hear and decide election petitions.
A decision in such petitions can be challenged in the Supreme Court