PP Chaudhary said Thursday that the committee had shelved its planned October 6 visit to the Supreme Court because the schedules of several members clashed and he had other duties to attend.
Opposition MPs quickly reacted, with at least one joint committee member writing to Chaudhary demanding the meeting be cancelled outright.
Kapil Sibal, a Rajya Sabha member and senior advocate, took to the floor and called the proposed visit "unconstitutional," warning that asking sitting judges to weigh in on a bill that might later face judicial review would blur the line between law‑making and law‑interpreting.
The panel’s earlier visits to the Supreme Court in 2022 and 2023 were confined to administrative matters—discussing e‑courts and legal aid—rather than the constitutional merits of pending legislation.
The One Nation, One Election bills, introduced in December 2024, seek to synchronize Lok Sabha and state assembly polls under a 129th Amendment framework. The joint committee remains tasked with scrutinising the bills before they move to a vote.
With the October 6 session off the table, the committee is expected to convene a virtual consultation next month to keep the review process moving, though no new date has been set yet.