Article 324

Article 324 vests the superintendence, direction and control of the preparation of electoral rolls and the conduct of elections in the Election Commission of India. It is drafted as a residuary power: where no statute or rule covers a situation, the Commission may act under Article 324 to fill the gap.

That breadth is the source of most litigation about the Commission. Courts have read it as plenary but not unbounded — it cannot be used to override an express statutory provision, only to supplement silence. Nearly every contested Commission order, from the Model Code of Conduct to a special intensive revision, is defended on Article 324 and challenged on the limits of it.