Supreme Court to Clarify ECI’s Powers to Skip Bye-Elections Under Section 151A
The Supreme Court has reserved judgment on the interpretation of Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which requires bye-elections to fill casual vacancies within six months, subject to statutory exceptions. The dispute concerns whether the one-year exception must be calculated from the date the vacancy arises or after accounting for the six-month period available to the Election Commission of India to conduct the election.