Election Laws in India Notes for UPSC Exams

Constitutional Provisions Regarding Elections

Part XV of the Indian Constitution deals with Elections. However, it only provides the foundational framework for holding elections; for example, it provides for the Election Commission to hold elections, universal adult suffrage, etc.; the elaborate provisions are made by the Parliament and, in some cases, state legislatures too, as provided under Article 327.

• Article 324: It provides for the Election Commission of India and vests in it the superintendence, direction and control of elections.
• Article 325: It provides for a general electoral roll for every constituency for the purpose of the elections to the Parliament or the state legislature. It also bars the inclusion of any person in the electoral roll on grounds only of religion, caste, race, sex or any of them.
• Article 326: It provides that elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies are to be held on the basis of adult suffrage.

All who are not less than 18 years of age are entitled to vote, provided s/he is not disqualified by a provision of the Constitution or law made by ‘appropriate legislature’ on the grounds of non-residence, unsound mind, criminal activity, or corrupt or unlawful practice.

• Article 327: It provides for the power of Parliament to make provisions with regard to the election of the Parliament and state legislatures, including preparation of electoral rolls, delimitation of constituencies and other necessary matters.
• Article 328: This article has a provision for the power of the state legislatures to make provisions with respect to elections to that legislature.

However, the state legislature is only empowered to legislate on such matters where the Parliament has not made any provisions. It means the state legislature has subsidiary powers with respect to such matters.

• Article 329: This article bars the interference of courts in electoral matters.

Constitutional Provisions Related to Composition of Legislature

Article 81: It lays down the composition of the House of People, i.e. Lok Sabha. Article 170: It provides for the composition of seats in the state legislature. Article 171: It provides for the composition of seats in the legislative councils in the states. Article 82: After each census, the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha among the states and the division of each state into territorial constituencies shall be carried out by such authorities as the Parliament may decide. Article 330 and 332: It provides for the reservation of seats for the scheduled castes (SCs) and scheduled tribes (STs) in the Lok Sabha and states respectively. Article 330A and 332A: It provides for the reservation of seats for women in the Lok Sabha and states respectively.

Parliamentary Laws Related to the Elections in India

While Articles 81, 170, and 171 provide for the composition of the Parliament, state legislative assemblies, and state legislative councils, the actual allocation of seats has to be made as per the law.

Similarly, Articles 327 and 328 empower Parliament and the state legislature (limited powers) to make provisions with regard to the election to the Parliament and state legislatures, including preparation of electoral rolls, delimitation of constituencies, and other necessary matters.

Hence, the Parliament has enacted several legislations regarding the conduct of elections in India, including:

1. Representation of the People Act, 1950: It defines the constituencies, electoral officers and the electors.
2. Representation of the People Act, 1951: It deals with the day-to-day affairs of electoral politics, such as registration of parties, conduct of elections, qualification and disqualification of candidates, electoral disputes, etc.
3. Delimitation Acts: These decide upon the boundaries of the respective constituencies.

Representation of People Act, 1950

The RPA 1950 was passed before the first election in the Independent India to define the allocation of seats and the electors.

• Allocation of seats: It was enacted to provide for the allocation of seats in the Lok Sabha and the legislative assemblies and legislative councils in the states.
• Delimitation of constituencies: It also empowers the President to delimit, after consultation with the EC, the constituencies for the purpose of elections to the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies and councils. We will read about the delimitation process in detail in the later part of the chapter.
• Election Officers: The Act provides for elections officers such as chief electoral officers, district election officers, electoral registration officers, etc.

1. 1. Chief Electoral officers and district election officers head the state and the district electoral machinery, respectively, and are generally IAS officers.
   2. The role of these officers is the registration of voters and correction of the names in the electoral rolls.
   3. CEO, DEO and electoral registration officers are all designated/nominated by the Election Commission of India in consultation with the State government whenever their need arises.

Note: Officers related to the actual conduct of elections are defined in RPA 1951.

• Registration of Voters: The Act provides for the registration of electors for Parliamentary constituencies and legislative assembly and council constituencies.

Conditions for registration as voters:

1. Nobody shall be entitled to be enrolled in the electoral roll for more than one constituency.
2. Nobody shall be entitled to be enrolled in the electoral roll for any constituency more than once.
3. The person must be not less than 18 years of age on the qualifying date.

The person should be an “ordinarily resident” in a constituency.

Disqualification of registration of Voters: A person shall be disqualified from enrolling in an electoral roll if s/he;

(a) Is not a citizen of India;

(b) is of unsound mind and declared so by a competent court;  (c) is disqualified from voting under any law concerning corrupt practices and other offences in connection with elections.

• The Acts bars the jurisdiction of civil courts regarding the registration of a person in an electoral roll.

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