The Supreme Court on March 2 quashed the existing system of appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners(EC), which is being done by the Centre, and ruled that appointment be done by a committee of PM, Leader of Opposition and Chief Justice of India.

The order came after a batch of petitions were filed in the apex court seeking an independent mechanism to appoint CECs and ECs so as to ensure the independence and autonomy of the poll panel. The constitutional bench hearing the matter comprised of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar had reserved judgment in the matter on November 24, 2022, after hearing the arguments.

The court observed that there is a need to insulate functioning of the Election Commission from executive interference and also that ECs need same protection as the CECs, can't be removed by the government.

“Founding fathers of the Constitution left it for the Parliament to frame law for appointment of CECs. Political dispensations betrayed trust reposted in them, law yet to be framed” the court observed. Justice Ajay Rastogi added that procedure to remove Election Commissioners shall be same as of CECs.

The SC was hearing series of petitions filed which challenged the constitutionality of the present appointment process of the CECs and ECs and contended that the appointments were done as per whims and fancies of the executive and also that the Centre unilaterally appoints the members of the Election Commission unlike the appointments of the CBI director or Lokpal, where the leader of the Opposition and judiciary have a say .

The petitions sought creation of an independent collegium or selection committee for future appointments of above said positions.

The apex court had referred the petitions to constitutional bench in October 2018 after the divisional bench held that a close look and interpretation of the provision of Article 324 of the Constitution of India maybe required, which states superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in the EC.

SC had questioned the Centre on the appointment of former IAS officer Arun Goel as the new Election Commissioner at a "lightning speed" saying the process was completed within 24 hours and the court had perused the original files brought by the Centre on Goel's appointment as Election Commissioner. The bench had clarified that it was not questioning the merits of Arun Goel's credentials, but the process.

On behalf of the centre, Attorney General R. Venkatramani had responded that there is a mechanism and criteria for selection and there cannot be a scenario where the government has to look back at every officer's track record and ensure that he completes the six-year tenure.

Under the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, an Election Commissioner can have a tenure of six years or up to the age of 65, whichever is earlier.

OP Rawat, the former CEC, said the top court's verdict will be welcomed by all. "Article 324 of the Constitution provided that until a law was enacted by the Parliament, the President shall appoint CEC and ECs. However, such a law could not be enacted till now and default provision worked. The Supreme Court's order will silence the critics of the current system as well as put pressure on the government to enact a law in compliance with the Constitutional provision. First vacancy at EC is likely to arise in early 2024 and we can expect some positive change in the system," Rawat said.

First Published:Mar 2, 2023 11:23 AM IST