New Delhi: Supporting the Election Commission's (EC) observations on imposition of President Rule in Gujarat as perfectly valid, Congress on September 24 submitted before the Supreme Court that it was the only way to ensure free and fair elections in the state ravaged by riots.

Putting its views on the Presidential reference on the controversial order of the EC declining to hold immediate polls in the state, Congress counsel Kapil Sibal said before a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice B N Kirpal that "Imposition of President's rule is the only answer to ensure free and fair elections".

He said, "In the present case, the peculiar situation that has arisen is on account of the findings of the Commission with reference to Gujarat that the Constitutional machinery has broken down because of the factors set out in the Commission's report and that in the circumstances there can be no free and fair polls in Gujarat.

Questioning the manner of framing of questions in the reference, the Congress' counsel said it totally agreed with the view of the EC that in case of clash between Article 324 and Article 174 of the Constitution, the latter should yield to the former.

Sibal said under Article 324, the EC had been conferred the powers to superintend, direct and hold free, fair and periodic elections which were basic to the democracy and hence termed as basic features of the Constitution.

However, though Article 174 mandates that there should not be a gap of more than six months between two sittings of an Assembly, this had been suspended in case of Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab in the past when elections could not be held.

From these two examples, it was amply clear that mandate of Article 324 was much more important than that of the Article 174 and hence, whenever there was a clash between these two Articles, Article 324 would prevail, he said.

Terming the EC's order as a bold one which "did all of us proud for upholding the basic tenets of Constitution", Congress' counsel said the Commission under law was to hold elections within six months after the dissolution of the Assembly.

By announcing that it would hold elections in October or November, the EC has done nothing wrong but acted under the provisions of the mandate of the Constitution, Sibal said.

Referring to the Supreme Court's decision that the reference would be decided dehors the Gujarat situation, he said the reference was made pursuant to the situation arising in Gujarat and the order of the Commission related to the extraordinary situation prevailing in the State.

The party said, "It is our contention that the order of the EC has arisen only because of the extraordinary situation prevailing in Gujarat and whatever is stated in the EC's order flows from what happened in Gujarat. Any attempt to answer the reference dehors Gujarat would not arise from the order of EC."

PTI