Election of Election Commission Chief and Commissioners
A committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice and the Leader of the Opposition should: Supreme Court’s decision
New Delhi : 02. March
(Sahar News.com/Agencies)
A five-member bench of the Supreme Court of India has directed the central government to select the Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India and the Election Commissioners by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and a representative of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Should be done on advice.
Today, March 2, a five-judge Constitution Bench comprising Hon’ble Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Anirudha Bose, Rikesh Rai and CT Ravi Kumar said that this setup will remain in place till the Central Government makes a law regarding the appointments.
In its decision, the bench said that as far as appointments to the posts of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners are concerned, the same shall be done by the President of India on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister of India, Chief Justice of India. And the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, if there is no such leader, the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha having the highest numerical strength shall be included. Not making it.
The Election Commissioners will be appointed by a Committee consisting:
1) PM
2) Leader of Opposition in LS (or leader of largest opposition party)
3) CJI#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtofiNdia @ECISVEEP @pbhushan1 pic.twitter.com/EhpbZwFx5z— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) March 2, 2023
It should be remembered that in the year 2018, petitions were filed in the Supreme Court against the method of selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners. The opposition parties alleged that the BJP government at the center violated the rules by appointing its favorite people to these positions. At the same time, many opposition parties have also accused and continue to do so that the Election Commission is busy working according to the government’s plan and it is working biasedly.
A five-member bench was formed in the Supreme Court to hear these petitions. After hearing, discussing and discussing these petitions, the decision was reserved on November 24, which has been issued today by the honorable five-member bench on March 2.
This bench of the Supreme Court asked the central government to consider setting up a permanent secretariat for the Election Commission of India and also to meet its expenses from the Consolidated Fund of India, so that the electoral body can be truly autonomous. .
The Supreme Court of the country said that the Election Commission must be independent. Honorable Justice KM Joseph said that the transparency of the election process should be maintained to maintain the democracy. Otherwise it will not give good results. He said that the power of the vote. This is the most because of which even the strongest parties can lose power. Therefore, the Election Commission must be independent. It is also important that they perform their duties according to the provisions of the Constitution and on the basis of court orders. He said that there should be a person on the post of Chief Election Commission of India who would not hesitate to take action against the Prime Minister if necessary.
Hon’ble Justice KM Joseph in the delivered judgment remarked that the court has noted that the criminal role of money power and politics has increased tremendously, and a large section of the media has abdicated its role and become biased.
Justice Joseph during the Election Commission case hearing:
A large section of the media has abdicated its role and become partisan.#SupremeCourt #SupremeCourtOfIndia pic.twitter.com/GvewwIzdT5
— Bar & Bench (@barandbench) March 2, 2023
An Election Commission that does not ensure free and fair polls in accordance with the rules of the game guarantees a breakdown of the foundation of the rule of law. As much as it denies the use of force when such use becomes obligatory, it has a pronounced and demoralizing effect on the fortunes of political parties. The Supreme Court of the country emphasized that the Election Commission of India should be autonomous and should function according to the constitutional framework.
Riding on the horse of freedom, it cannot act unfairly. Freedom must ultimately be about the question of what is right and what is wrong. A person who is weak in the face of authority cannot be made an Election Commissioner. A person, who is in a state of duty or feels indebted to his appointor, is a failure of the nation and has no place in conducting elections on the basis of democracy. A free person cannot be biased.
Honorable Justice Ajay Rastogi said that the dismissal of the Chief Election Commissioner should be done on the same basis as the judge of the Supreme Court. Further dismissal of the Election Commissioners will be done only on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. He further said that it is necessary that the second election The ground for removal of Commissioners should be the same as that of the Chief.
During the hearing of this case, the Hon’ble Bench had asked the Attorney General (AG) of India R Venkataramani whether the current practice of appointing servants on the verge of retirement was reasonable.
The bench also observed that political parties in power at the Center force the Chief Election Commissioners to do their bidding to stay in power, thereby compromising the independence of the Election Commission.
The court suggested to include the Chief Justice of India (CJI) in the committee to appoint the Chief Election Commission. Hon’ble Justice KM Joseph said that Article 326 of the Constitution gives the right to vote to citizens and it is a by-law of Parliament. Cannot be deprived of creative options.
Notably, the bench even questioned the central government about the rush to appoint Arun Goyal as the Election Commissioner a few months ago and how the names were shortlisted before his election. .?Hon’ble Justice KM Joseph pointed out that the existing legal provisions provide for separate terms for Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioners, and not cumulatively or for a maximum of 6 years, as has been the case recently. The court had asked under which law the practice of electing the Chief Election Commissioner is being promoted to the Election Commissioners.
In this case, senior advocates Gopal Sankara Narayanan, Anoop G Chaudhary along with Prashant Bhushan and Virendra K Sharma appeared for the petitioners. While Attorney General R Venkat Ramani, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General Balbir Singh appeared for the petitioners.
Currently, there is no law regarding the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners in the country. The entire process of appointment is in the hands of the central government. According to the procedure adopted so far, a list of present or retired officers of the rank of secretary is prepared. Sometimes the list contains up to 40 names.
Based on this list, a panel of three names is prepared and these names are considered by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. After that, the Prime Minister talks to the officials included in the panel and the names are sent to the President of the Republic of India for approval. Along with these names, the Prime Minister also sends a recommendation letter, in which the reasons for selecting these officials as Election Commissioner/Commissioners. are also reported.
The decision/direction given by the Supreme Court today has been welcomed by the opposition parties and termed as a historic decision. No conspiracy will succeed.
Rajya Sabha member of Congress Ranjit Singh Surjewala wrote in his tweet that “Supreme Court discipline is very important. BJP’s conspiracy to weaken democratic values will never succeed. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also in his tweet This decision of the court has been welcomed. Apart from them, Trinamool Congress MP Derek Obin, Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi of Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray Group), NCP and other parties have termed this decision of the Supreme Court as historic. It is welcomed by giving.
Note: In preparation of this detailed report, the legal website “Bar & Bench”. Bar & Bench “Courtesy of help taken from.”
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