ELECTION LAWS

PROJECT SUBMISSION

PART XV OF CONSTITUTION
(ARTICLES 324-329)

SUBMITTED BY:
SAZIA
SUBMITTED TO:
ROLL NO.55/18
Ms Nehmat Bajwa
B.A.L.L.B SEMESTER 9
SECTION -A
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The completion of this project would not have been possible without the
support and help of many individuals and the institution. I would like to
extend my sincere thanks to all of them.
I am highly indebted to Ms Nehmat Bajwa for her guidance, patience, and
constant supervision as well as for providing necessary information
regarding the project and also for her support in completing the project.
I would like to express my gratitude towards my parents and my friends
for their kind co-operation and encouragement which helped me in
completion of this project while working on the project from home.
I would like to express my special gratitude and thanks to my department
University Institute of Legal Studies for providing an access to the library.
Last but not the least, I thank the Almighty for his blessings.

SAZIA

55/18

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Sr. No Content Page No.
1. Introduction 3
2. Part XV of the Constitution 4-5
3. Article 324 6-8
4. Article 325, 326 9
5. Article 327, 328 10
6. Article 329 11
7. Conclusion 12
8. References 13

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 INTRODUCTION

“By voting, we add our voice to the chorus that forms opinions and the
basis for actions.”
-Jens Stoltenberg

India is the largest democracy of this world and the importance of elections
in India can be linked both with moral and legal significance. India’s
constitution sets out the country’s political code, federal structure, powers of
government and guarantees Indians’ rights, including to equality before the
law and freedoms of speech, assembly, movement and others.

India’s government is loosely modelled on the British Westminster system.

It consists of a president as head of state; an executive headed by the prime
minister; a legislature consisting of a parliament with an upper and lower
house (the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha); and a judiciary with a supreme
court at its head. (Price, 2022)

In most democracies the people rule through their representatives. Therefore,

elections are essential in our times for any representative democracy. In an
election the voters can choose who will make laws for them. They can
choose who will form the government and take major decisions. They can
choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.

Part XV of the Constitution prescribes for the setup of the independent

agency of Election Commission under Article 324(1) and other procedures
that shall be dealt with herein.

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 PART XV OF THE CONSTITUTION

Part 15 of the Indian Constitution consists of articles related to elections

conducted in India. Provisions from Article 324 to Article 329 are given in
Part 15 of the Indian Constitution.

A brief bare reading of these articles can be summarised as:

● As per Article 324 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, the

control of elections, the direction and superintendence of the elections
will be vested in the hands of the Election Commission of India.

● There shall be no special electoral roll for any constituency based on

sex, caste, race, and religion.

● As per Article 325 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, for

election to either House of Parliament or to the House or either House
of the Legislature of a State, there shall be one general electoral roll
for every territorial constituency.

● As per Article 326 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, the

elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislatures in every state shall
take place based on universal adult suffrage. It means citizens of India
who are not below the age of 18 years can vote in the elections and
elect the Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative
Assembly.

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 ● As per Article 327 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, from
time to time, the Parliament has the power to make provisions related
to the elections of Legislature of a state, related to the elections of
either House of the Parliament, delimitation of constituencies,
preparation of electoral constituencies, etc.

● As per Article 328 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, the

legislature of a state will have the power to make provisions with
respect to all matters relating to the elections to the House or either
House of the State Legislature, including the preparation of electoral
rolls.

● As per Article 329 given in Part 15 of the Indian Constitution, courts

cannot interfere in elections.

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 ARTICLE 324

While interpreting the provision under Article 324, the Supreme Court held
that the Preamble of our Constitution proclaims that we are a Democratic
Republic. Democracy being the basic feature of our constitutional setup,
there can be no two opinions that free and fair elections to our legislative
bodies alone would guarantee the growth of a healthy democracy.

In order to ensure the purity of the election process it was thought by our
constitution makers that the responsibility to hold free and fair elections
should be entrusted in an independent body which would be insulated from
political and/or executive interference. It is inherent in a democratic set-up
that the agency which is entrusted the task of holding elections to the
legislatures should be fully insulated so that it can function as an
independent agency free from any pressures from the party in power or the
executive of the day. (Swamy, 2016)

This objective was achieved by setting up the Election Commission, which

is a permanent body established under Article 324(1)-

The superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of the

electoral rolls for, and the conduct of, all elections to Parliament and to the
Legislature of every State and of elections to the offices of President and
Vice-President held under this Constitution shall be vested in a Commission
(referred to in this Constitution as the Election Commission).

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Article 324(2) deals with the constitution of the Election Commission and
makes the office of the Chief Election Commissioner and other officers.-

The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner

and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President
may from time-to-time fix and the appointment of the Chief Election
Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the
provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the
President.

Article 324(4) creates the office of Regional Commissioners in certain

circumstances.-

(4) Before each general election to the House of the People and to the
Legislative Assembly of each State, and before the first general election and
thereafter before each biennial election to the Legislative Council of each
State having such Council, the President may also appoint after consultation
with the Election Commission such Regional Commissioners as he may
consider necessary to assist the Election Commission in the performance of
the functions conferred on the Commission by clause (1).

Article 324(5) mentions about the service and tenure of the officers.-

Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of

service and tenure of office of the Election Commissioners and the Regional
Commissioners shall be such as the President may by rule determine:

Provided that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from
his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the
Supreme Court and the conditions of service of the Chief Election
Commissioner shall not be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment:

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Provided further that any other Election Commissioner or a Regional
Commissioner shall not be removed from office except on the
recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

Article 324(6) mandates the President and/or the Governor, as the case may
be to provide for adequate staff.-

The President, or the Governor 1 of a State, shall, when so requested by the

Election Commission, make available to the Election Commission or to a
Regional Commissioner such staff as may be necessary for the discharge of
the functions conferred on the Election Commission by clause (1).

Though an independent body, the Election Commission does not enjoy

absolute freedom. The Supreme Court has made the following observations:

Two limitations at least are laid on its plenary character in the

exercise thereof. Firstly, when Parliament or any State Legislature
has made valid law regarding or in connection with elections, the
Commission shall act in conformity with, not in violation of such
provisions but where such law is silent Article 324 acts as a
reservoir of power to act for the avowed purpose of, not divorced
from pushing forward a free and fair election with expedition. 1

1
Mohinder Singh Gill v. Chief Election Commissioner [1978] 2 SCR 272

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 ARTICLE 325
Article 325 of the Indian Constitution says that No person to be ineligible
for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special, electoral- roll on
grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.

Furthermore, it states that there shall be one general electoral roll for every
territorial constituency for election to either House of Parliament or to the
House or either House of the Legislature of a State and no person shall be
ineligible for inclusion in any such roll or claim to be included in any special
electoral roll for any such constituency on grounds only of religion, race,
caste, sex or any of them.

ARTICLE 326
Article 326 of the Indian Constitution is responsible for conducting
elections to the Legislative Assembly and Lok Sabha of each state under
a certain set of rules. According to the article, elections should be
conducted on the basis of adult suffrage. According to adult suffrage, any
person who is an Indian citizen and is above 21 years of age can vote. Later
it was changed to 18 years.

● Initially, an Indian citizen above the age of 35 years was able to cast a
vote which was later changed to 21 years.

● This article ensures equality among voters without any discrimination

on the basis of religion, caste, race, or gender.

● However, the Constitution (Sixty-first Amendment) Act, 1989 has

reduced the voting age for state and Lok Sabha assemblies to only 18
years (earlier it was 21 years).

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 ARTICLE 327
Article 327 talks about the Power of Parliament to make provisions with
respect to elections to Legislatures. In the exercise of the power conferred by
Article 327, Parliament has enacted the Representation of the People Acts,
1950 and 1951 and the Delimitation Commission Act, 1952. The Election
Commission is to act not inconsistent with these Acts

Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may from time to

time by law make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or in
connection with, elections to either House of Parliament or to the House or
either House of the Legislature of a State including the preparation of
electoral rolls, the delimitation of constituencies and all other matters
necessary for securing the due constitution of such House or Houses.

Similar power is conferred by Article 328 on the Legislature of a State with

respect to the elections to the Houses of the State Legislature. The power of
the State Legislature is subjected to the provisions of the Constitution and
any law made by Parliament.

ARTICLE 328
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution and in so far as provision in
that behalf is not made by Parliament, the Legislature of a State may from
time to time by law make provision with respect to all matters relating to, or
in connection with, the elections to the House or either House of the
Legislature of the State including the preparation of electoral rolls and all
other matters necessary for securing the due constitution of such House or
Houses.

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 ARTICLE 329
Clause (a) of Article 329 provides that the validity of any law relating to the
delimitation of constituencies or the allotment of seats to such constituencies
made or purported to be made under Article 327 or Article 328 shall not be
called in question in any court of law.

Clause (b) of Article 329 as amended by the Constitution (19th Amendment)

Act, 1966, provides that notwithstanding anything in the Constitution, no
election to either House of Parliament or the Legislature of a State shall be
called in question except by an election petition presented to such authority
and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any law made by the
appropriate Legislature. In pursuance of this Clause, Parliament enacted the
Representation of the People Act, 1951. The Act has vested the power to
decide any election petition, in the High Courts.

In K. Venkatachalam v. A. Swamickan2, the Supreme Court has ruled that

Article 329(b) does not come into play when case falls under Articles 191
and 193.
The word Election is held to include every process of proceedings after
issuance of election Notification

2
AIR 1999 SC 1723

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 CONCLUSION
Election law is a discipline falling at the juncture of constitutional law and
political science. It researches “the politics of law and the law of politics”.

Since 1950 many laws have been passed in India regarding the functioning
of elections.

The Election Commission has controlled and maintained the sanctity of the
elections across the country for over half a century. It has played a crucial
role in ensuring that the democratic nature of the country remains untainted.
To this day, it has protected several elections from the influence of
fraudulent activities of political parties and figures so that the citizens’ right
to free and fair elections are not taken away. It is apparent that Article 324
has played a fundamental role in aiding the Election Commission in
performing its duties free from external influences.

The elections contested in India are somewhat like battles. They are strongly
fought with money power, muscle power, media etc. What has majorly
affected India the most is its religious beliefs. The threats to the minorities
and backward classes and violence. News reporters being scared to death,
repeated murders in certain areas. The reliability of contesting ‘free and fair
elections’, giving people their right to choose their candidates who might
actually look into their problems seems to be a flawed concept.

he electoral system in India has made some amazing progress in its

procedural structure. Be that as it may, on the considerable front, it is yet
falling behind as it has its own pros and cons. Due to its large population,
different assertions in deprived masses can lead towards some wrong cause.
But still, Indian democracy has faced a lot of changes because of its new

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economic policies.

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 REFERENCES

References
Bose, A. (2022, May 12). iPLEADERS. Retrieved from blog.ipleaders:
https://blog.ipleaders.in/minimum-wages-act-1948- 2/#:~:text=The%20Minimum
%20Wages%20Act%2C%201948%20was%20enacted%20to
%20safeguard%20the,of%20livelihood%20for%20the%20workers.

Paul, P. (. (2019). Labour and Industrial Law. faridabad: Alahabad Law Agency.

Price, D. G. (2022, April 7). Chatham House. Retrieved from chathamhouse.org:

https://www.chathamhouse.org/2022/04/democracy-india

Swamy, D. P. (2016). Handbook on Election Laws. Gurgaon: Lexis Nexis.

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