Simultaneous poll panel to consult Attorney General, ex-Delhi HC chief justice

New Delhi: Attorney General R Venkatramani and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal Chairman Justice D N Patel, a former Delhi High Court chief justice, will express their views on Tuesday on the simultaneous election Bills before a parliamentary committee, the panel’s chairman P P Chaudhary said.

Chaudhary told news agency the committee is seeking views from a host of legal experts so that its members can seek clarifications and added their “valuable inputs” will help it in framing its recommendations.

Sources said the Lok Sabha is likely to extend the tenure of the committee, which was asked to submit its report on the first day of last week of Parliament ongoing session scheduled to end on April 4, in a day or two as the panel will need more time to finish its work.

The panel is currently in the process of consulting legal experts and Venkatramani and Patel will appear before it as part of its exercise to seek views from experts of law and Constitution before it moves on to hearing out other stakeholders.

Former Supreme Court chief justices U U Lalit and Ranjan Gogoi, noted jurist Harish Salve and former Delhi High Court chief justice A P Shah are among those who have so far appeared before the panel and answered to the questions from its members on a full range of issues concerning the proposed law.