In Brief
A Member of Parliament from Bhandara–Gondiya constituency resigned in December 2017. A public-spirited petitioner challenged the Election Commission's plan to hold a bye-election in May 2018, arguing the elected candidate would serve less than a year and elections would waste public funds. The Supreme Court upheld the High Court's dismissal, holding that Section 151A of the Representation of the People Act mandates bye-elections unless the remainder of the member's term is less than one year. Since the next general election was June 2019, more than one year remained. The Court rejected concerns about expenditure and held that representative democracy requires timely filling of vacancies.
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