The Evening Wrap: Panel under ex-President Kovind to explore 'one-nation, one-election'

The Union government on Friday said that a committee has been formed under the headship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind, to look into the feasibility of simultaneous polls to State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi declared that the committee has been constituted, and that one needed to await its report for any further news on the issue. While Joshi declared that the committee had been constituted, no official notification had been forthcoming from the government till late evening. No information was available on other members of the committee or the terms of reference that they would be operating under. Right after news broke of the formation of such a committee, BJP president J.P. Nadda called on Kovind at his residence in New Delhi. “Right now, a committee has been constituted. A report of the committee will come out which will discuss its prospects. It will be discussed in public domain and when it will come in Parliament, there will be discussion there too,” Joshi said. Several Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States – Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam, and Pramod Sawant of Goa — gave statements in support of the move. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a landmark decision by appointing a commission to look after the issue of Óne Nation, One Election. I am very happy that a person of stature like [former president of India] Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the offer. Multiple elections involve lots of money and because every time India is in election mode, development suffers,” Sarma said. The Prime Minister has been advocating simultaneous polls for Assemblies and the Lok Sabha for many years now, with the first such mention being in an address to the BJP’s national executive in Delhi in March 2016. He has also been raising this issue at various public fora for many years. Interestingly, Kovind too had spoken on the issue as part of his address to the joint Houses of Parliament in 2018. “Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct,” Kovind had said in his speech. Quite apart from canvassing support from various political parties and stakeholders, holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would require at least five constitutional amendments and a large number of additional electronic voting machines (EVMs) and paper-trail machines. The five amendments in the Constitution would entail changes to Article 83 relating to the duration of Houses of Parliament, Article 85 relating to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha by the President, Article 172 relating to the duration of the State legislatures, Article 174 relating to dissolution of the State legislatures, and Article 356 relating to the imposition of President’s Rule in States. A parliamentary panel had examined the issue of simultaneous elections in consultation with various stakeholders, including the Election Commission of India. The matter now stands referred to the Law Commission for further examination to work out a “practicable road map and framework” for simultaneous elections, officials said. Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case: Supreme Court says keeping Navlakha under house arrest will set ‘wrong precedent’ The Supreme Court said on September 1 that keeping activist Gautam Navlakha under house arrest in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case further will set a “wrong precedent” and directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to apprise it of his current medical condition and the stage of trial. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and J.B. Pardiwala asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, to file an affidavit within four weeks. Navlakha is under house arrest at a public library in Mumbai since November 2022. “Prima facie we have our reservations, but a lengthy order has been passed. Without going into the merits of the case, this might set a wrong precedent. You may have 100% merit, not saying anything about that. But to facilitate this, and do this for one person...file an affidavit. It should include the present condition of this person and the stage of the trial,” the bench observed orally. As the hearing began, the lawyer appearing for Navlakha said the apex court had directed the NIA to file its reply in April on the activist’s plea seeking a change of accommodation but the federal anti-terror agency has not submitted its response till date. Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Navlakha, told the bench that the Bombay High Court is scheduled to hear the activist’s bail plea and sought time. Raju told the bench the order for placing Navlakha under house arrest is an unusual order which is probably the first of its kind. “He obtained the house order on grounds of his sickness. He said one lady would stay with him. But she isn’t staying most of the time,” Raju said, insisting the house arrest order is unwarranted. The ASG said Navlakha owes money to the State and urged the bench to direct them to pay at least ₹20 lakh towards expenses for making available police personnel for his security. Ramakrishnan submitted that NIA’s own medical examination confirms Navlakha’s ailment. While ordering his house arrest on November 10 last year, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit ₹2.4 lakh towards the expenses to be borne by the State for deploying police personnel to effectively place him under house arrest. At the last hearing, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit another ₹8 lakh as expenses for providing police personnel for his security. On November 10, 2022, the top court had allowed Navlakha, who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison in connection with the case, to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health. Noting that the activist has been in custody since April 14, 2020, and prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report, it had said Navlakha does not have any criminal background except for this case and even the government of India had appointed him as an interlocutor to hold talks with Maoists. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city. Children from void, voidable marriages entitled to parents’ share in ancestral property: SC The Supreme Court on September 1 held that a child born of a void or voidable marriage can inherit the parent’s share in a joint Hindu family property governed by the Mitakshara law. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud however clarified that such a child would not be entitled to rights in or to the property of any other person in the family. A voidable marriage is one that is made invalid by the husband or wife through a decree. A void marriage is invalid at the very inception. Mitakashara law of succession governing Hindu Undivided Families applies to the whole of India except West Bengal and Assam. Chief Justice Chandrachud said the first step to inheritance of a child from a void or voidable marriage would be to ascertain the exact share of his parent in the ancestral property. This could be done by means of conducting a “notional partition” of the ancestral property and calculating how much of the property the parent would have got immediately before his death. “For the purpose of ascertaining the interest of a deceased Hindu Mitakshara coparcener (a person who acquires a legal right to his ancestral property through birth in a Hindu Undivided Family), the law mandates the assumption of a state of affairs immediately prior to the death of the coparcener, namely, a partition of the coparcenary property between the deceased and the other members of the coparcenary,” Chief Justice Chandrachud, who authored the judgment, observed. Once the share of the deceased parent in the property is ascertained through such a notional partition, his heirs, including his children by means of void or voidable marriage, would be entitled to their portions in the share. “When the share of the deceased in the property that would be allotted to him if a partition had taken place immediately before his death is ascertained, his heirs, including children who have been conferred with legitimacy, will be entitled to their shares in the property which would have been allotted to the deceased on the notional partition,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held. Suspended Kashmiri lecturer appears before inquiry committee, produces leave application, other documents A Kashmiri lecturer, who was suspended days after appearing before the Supreme Court in favour of Article 370, presented himself before the committee constituted by the Lieutenant Governor’s (L-G) administration, official sources said. The lecturer provided the committee with his leave application, station permission and other documents before appearing in the case. Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a senior lecturer of Political Science, confirmed to The Hindu that he appeared before Subah Mehta, Joint Director, School Education, Jammu, on Thursday as part of an inquiry. “I do not want to talk more about it,” Bhat said. Bhat was examined by Mehta for around an hour. On August 25, the L-G administration called for “an in-depth inquiry into the conduct of the delinquent officer”. Four days before the government action, Bhat, having a law degree, appeared for himself and highlighted “unconstitutional and undemocratic” methods used to abrogate provisions of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 by the Centre. Bhat has produced before the inquiry committee the two-day leave application, where he had sought permission to visit New Delhi for August 22 and 23. “That I have to attend my case in the Supreme Court on August 22, 2023. I need casual leave for this purpose,” the leave application reads. Meanwhile, the principal of the BoysHigher Secondary school, Jawahar Nagar, informed the Director, School Education, that Bhat forwarded the leave application and station permission to the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, with a copy to his office for further necessary action. “Mr. Bhat resumed his duties back on August 24, 2023,” the principal’s report reads. Without citing any case, the School Education Department had accused Bhat of “violation of provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct Rules, and Jammu and Kashmir Leave Rules”. Bhat, official sources said, apprised the inquiry officer about the work he has done to promote democracy and contribute to the education system. He received a certificate of excellence in 2018 for being part of the government’s free coaching programme for students appearing for civil services examination, including Kashmir Administrative Services and Indian Administrative Services. Official sources said the administration is also verifying the credentials of Bhat and his past conduct. The Supreme Court on August 28 asked the Attorney General of India to look into the suspension of the senior Kashmiri lecturer from his job by the Jammu and Kashmir administration in close succession of his arguing his challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 before the court. In Brief: Public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have slashed the price of 19 kg commercial LPG gas cylinders by ₹158, according to the sources. The new prices will be effective from today. In Delhi, the retail price of the 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder will be ₹1,522. On August 29, the price of domestic LPG was reduced by ₹200 by the Centre, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed a “Raksha Bandhan gift” to the sisters of the country. Monthly revisions for both commercial and domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders occur on the first day of each month, with the new rates becoming effective from September 1. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 01 September 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Centre forms panel under former President Ram Nath Kovind for simultaneous polls to Lok Sabha and State Assemblies The Union government on Friday said that [a committee has been formed under the headship of former President of India Ram Nath Kovind, to look into the feasibility of simultaneous polls to State Assemblies and the Lok Sabha](. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi declared that the committee has been constituted, and that one needed to await its report for any further news on the issue. While Joshi declared that the committee had been constituted, no official notification had been forthcoming from the government till late evening. No information was available on other members of the committee or the terms of reference that they would be operating under. Right after news broke of the formation of such a committee, BJP president J.P. Nadda called on Kovind at his residence in New Delhi. “Right now, a committee has been constituted. A report of the committee will come out which will discuss its prospects. It will be discussed in public domain and when it will come in Parliament, there will be discussion there too,” Joshi said. Several Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled States – Yogi Adityanath of Uttar Pradesh, Himanta Biswa Sarma of Assam, and Pramod Sawant of Goa — gave statements in support of the move. Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken a landmark decision by appointing a commission to look after the issue of Óne Nation, One Election. I am very happy that a person of stature like [former president of India] Ram Nath Kovind has accepted the offer. Multiple elections involve lots of money and because every time India is in election mode, development suffers,” Sarma said. The Prime Minister has been advocating simultaneous polls for Assemblies and the Lok Sabha for many years now, with the first such mention being in an address to the BJP’s national executive in Delhi in March 2016. He has also been raising this issue at various public fora for many years. Interestingly, Kovind too had spoken on the issue as part of his address to the joint Houses of Parliament in 2018. “Frequent elections not only impose a huge burden on human resources but also impede the development process due to the promulgation of the model code of conduct,” Kovind had said in his speech. Quite apart from canvassing support from various political parties and stakeholders, holding simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies would require at least five constitutional amendments and a large number of additional electronic voting machines (EVMs) and paper-trail machines. The five amendments in the Constitution would entail changes to Article 83 relating to the duration of Houses of Parliament, Article 85 relating to the dissolution of the Lok Sabha by the President, Article 172 relating to the duration of the State legislatures, Article 174 relating to dissolution of the State legislatures, and Article 356 relating to the imposition of President’s Rule in States. A parliamentary panel had examined the issue of simultaneous elections in consultation with various stakeholders, including the Election Commission of India. The matter now stands referred to the Law Commission for further examination to work out a “practicable road map and framework” for simultaneous elections, officials said. Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case: Supreme Court says keeping Navlakha under house arrest will set ‘wrong precedent’ The [Supreme Court said on September 1 that keeping activist Gautam Navlakha under house arrest in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist link case further will set a “wrong precedent”]( and directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to apprise it of his current medical condition and the stage of trial. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and J.B. Pardiwala asked Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the NIA, to file an affidavit within four weeks. Navlakha is under house arrest at a public library in Mumbai since November 2022. “Prima facie we have our reservations, but a lengthy order has been passed. Without going into the merits of the case, this might set a wrong precedent. You may have 100% merit, not saying anything about that. But to facilitate this, and do this for one person...file an affidavit. It should include the present condition of this person and the stage of the trial,” the bench observed orally. As the hearing began, the lawyer appearing for Navlakha said the apex court had directed the NIA to file its reply in April on the activist’s plea seeking a change of accommodation but the federal anti-terror agency has not submitted its response till date. Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for Navlakha, told the bench that the Bombay High Court is scheduled to hear the activist’s bail plea and sought time. Raju told the bench the order for placing Navlakha under house arrest is an unusual order which is probably the first of its kind. “He obtained the house order on grounds of his sickness. He said one lady would stay with him. But she isn’t staying most of the time,” Raju said, insisting the house arrest order is unwarranted. The ASG said Navlakha owes money to the State and urged the bench to direct them to pay at least ₹20 lakh towards expenses for making available police personnel for his security. Ramakrishnan submitted that NIA’s own medical examination confirms Navlakha’s ailment. While ordering his house arrest on November 10 last year, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit ₹2.4 lakh towards the expenses to be borne by the State for deploying police personnel to effectively place him under house arrest. At the last hearing, the apex court had directed Navlakha to deposit another ₹8 lakh as expenses for providing police personnel for his security. On November 10, 2022, the top court had allowed Navlakha, who was then lodged in Navi Mumbai’s Taloja prison in connection with the case, to be placed under house arrest owing to his deteriorating health. Noting that the activist has been in custody since April 14, 2020, and prima facie there is no reason to reject his medical report, it had said Navlakha does not have any criminal background except for this case and even the government of India had appointed him as an interlocutor to hold talks with Maoists. The case relates to alleged inflammatory speeches made at the Elgar Parishad conclave held in Pune on December 31, 2017, which police claim triggered violence the next day near the Koregaon-Bhima war memorial on the outskirts of the city. Children from void, voidable marriages entitled to parents’ share in ancestral property: SC The [Supreme Court on September 1 held that a child born of a void or voidable marriage can inherit the parent’s share in a joint Hindu family property]( governed by the Mitakshara law. A three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud however clarified that such a child would not be entitled to rights in or to the property of any other person in the family. A voidable marriage is one that is made invalid by the husband or wife through a decree. A void marriage is invalid at the very inception. Mitakashara law of succession governing Hindu Undivided Families applies to the whole of India except West Bengal and Assam. Chief Justice Chandrachud said the first step to inheritance of a child from a void or voidable marriage would be to ascertain the exact share of his parent in the ancestral property. This could be done by means of conducting a “notional partition” of the ancestral property and calculating how much of the property the parent would have got immediately before his death. “For the purpose of ascertaining the interest of a deceased Hindu Mitakshara coparcener (a person who acquires a legal right to his ancestral property through birth in a Hindu Undivided Family), the law mandates the assumption of a state of affairs immediately prior to the death of the coparcener, namely, a partition of the coparcenary property between the deceased and the other members of the coparcenary,” Chief Justice Chandrachud, who authored the judgment, observed. Once the share of the deceased parent in the property is ascertained through such a notional partition, his heirs, including his children by means of void or voidable marriage, would be entitled to their portions in the share. “When the share of the deceased in the property that would be allotted to him if a partition had taken place immediately before his death is ascertained, his heirs, including children who have been conferred with legitimacy, will be entitled to their shares in the property which would have been allotted to the deceased on the notional partition,” Chief Justice Chandrachud held. Suspended Kashmiri lecturer appears before inquiry committee, produces leave application, other documents A [Kashmiri lecturer, who was suspended days after appearing before the Supreme Court in favour of Article 370, presented himself before the committee constituted by the Lieutenant Governor’s (L-G) administration]( official sources said. The lecturer provided the committee with his leave application, station permission and other documents before appearing in the case. Zahoor Ahmad Bhat, a senior lecturer of Political Science, confirmed to The Hindu that he appeared before Subah Mehta, Joint Director, School Education, Jammu, on Thursday as part of an inquiry. “I do not want to talk more about it,” Bhat said. Bhat was examined by Mehta for around an hour. On August 25, the L-G administration called for “an in-depth inquiry into the conduct of the delinquent officer”. Four days before the government action, Bhat, having a law degree, appeared for himself and highlighted “unconstitutional and undemocratic” methods used to abrogate provisions of Article 370 on August 5, 2019 by the Centre. Bhat has produced before the inquiry committee the two-day leave application, where he had sought permission to visit New Delhi for August 22 and 23. “That I have to attend my case in the Supreme Court on August 22, 2023. I need casual leave for this purpose,” the leave application reads. Meanwhile, the principal of the BoysHigher Secondary school, Jawahar Nagar, informed the Director, School Education, that Bhat forwarded the leave application and station permission to the Chief Education Officer, Srinagar, with a copy to his office for further necessary action. “Mr. Bhat resumed his duties back on August 24, 2023,” the principal’s report reads. Without citing any case, the School Education Department had accused Bhat of “violation of provisions of Jammu and Kashmir Civil Service Regulations, Jammu and Kashmir Government Employees Conduct Rules, and Jammu and Kashmir Leave Rules”. Bhat, official sources said, apprised the inquiry officer about the work he has done to promote democracy and contribute to the education system. He received a certificate of excellence in 2018 for being part of the government’s free coaching programme for students appearing for civil services examination, including Kashmir Administrative Services and Indian Administrative Services. Official sources said the administration is also verifying the credentials of Bhat and his past conduct. The Supreme Court on August 28 asked the Attorney General of India to look into the suspension of the senior Kashmiri lecturer from his job by the Jammu and Kashmir administration in close succession of his arguing his challenge to the abrogation of Article 370 before the court. In Brief: [Public sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) have slashed the price of 19 kg commercial LPG gas cylinders by ₹158]( according to the sources. The new prices will be effective from today. In Delhi, the retail price of the 19 kg commercial LPG cylinder will be ₹1,522. On August 29, the price of domestic LPG was reduced by ₹200 by the Centre, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed a “Raksha Bandhan gift” to the sisters of the country. Monthly revisions for both commercial and domestic LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) cylinders occur on the first day of each month, with the new rates becoming effective from September 1. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. 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