Section 1247 in The Disputed Elections (Prime Minister And Speaker) Act, 1977
1247.
Article 329-A of the Constitution makes special provisions in respect of the following elections:-(a) electionin the case of Prime Minister or Speaker, that is the say, election to either House of Parliament of a person, who holds the office of Prime Minister at the time of such election or who is appointed as Prime Minister after such election; and(b) election in the case of Speaker, that is to say, election to the House of People of a person, who holds the office of Speaker of that House at the time of such election or who is chosen as Speaker of that House after such election.2. According to this article, an election in the case of Prime Minister or Speaker can be questioned only before such Authority (not being any such authority as is referred to in clause (b) of article 329) or body and in such manner as may be provided for by or under any law made by the Parliament, as the House of the People was dissolved on the 13th January, 1977 and the council of State was not in session, and general election for the purpose of constituting a new House of the People was to be held shortly, it become necessary to provide for the setting up of such Authority urgently. Hence, the Disputed Elections (Prime Minister and Speaker) Ordinance, 1977, was promulgated by the President on 3rd February, 1977.3. Government consider that the above Ordinance should be enacted subject to the modification that the Authority for trying a petition, questioning an election in the case of Prime Minister or Speaker, shall consist of a single member, who is a Judge of the Supreme Court, to be nominated by the Chief Justice of India, and shall not be a Council consisting of nine members, as envisaged in the Oridnance. The Bill provides for such an Authority and contains the necessary consequential modifications.4. The procedure to be followed by the Authority, the ground on which the election may be called in question and other matters of detail relating to security for costs, reliefs that may be claimed by the petitioner, withdrawal and abatement of petitons, etc., are similar to those contained in the corresponding provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and do not make any significant departure from the provisions of the Ordinance in that behalf.
