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NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine the validity of the provisions of Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act which mandates that appointments of the poll panel be decided by a committee comprising the PM, a cabinet minister and Leader of the Opposition. The apex court, however, refused to stay operation of the new law.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to Centre and Election Commission seeking their response on a petition which alleged that the new law is violative of the apex court’s judgment of last year which directed that the decision on appointment of CEC and ECs be made by a panel consisting of the PM, Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of India. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, pressed for an interim order to stay operation of the law but the bench turned down the plea.
The petition, filed by Congress activist Jaya Thakur, alleged that that Sections 7 and 8 are violative of the principle of free and fair elections as it does not provide an “independent mechanism” for appointment of the members of the Election Commission. It contended that the law was enacted to override SC’s March 2023 verdict by the court which had sought transparency in the appointment process by entrusting the task to a panel of the PM, LoP and CJI, taking away the power of the Centre to unilaterally appoint them, a practice which had been in place since Independence.
Law on CEC selection enacted to override SC’s 2023 verdict: Petition
In a major decision to insulate the Election Commission from government’s interference, a five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court had on March 2 unanimously disapproved the system of the Centre appointing members of the poll panel. The court had said any perception that “yes man”, appointed by the Centre in the poll panel, would decide the fate of democracy has to be removed and the Commission should be made “fiercely independent, honest, competent and fair”.
“We declare that as far as appointment to the posts of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners are concerned, the same shall be done by the President of India on the basis of the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and, in case, there is no such leader, the leader of the largest party in the opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. This norm will continue to hold good till a law is made by Parliament,” the apex court had said.
Referring to SC’s 2023 verdict, the petitioner contended that free and fair elections would be compromised under the new mechanism by replacing the CJI by a Union minister in the panel.
“The above said acts of the respondent clearly show that they are compromising the free and fair election because of exclusion of the CJI from the committee and the Prime Minister and his nominee would always be the deciding factor and all the appointments would be done by the ruling party, because one dissent (by LoP) cannot restrain the appointment and hence this process cannot be said to be free and fair,” the petition said.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta issued notice to Centre and Election Commission seeking their response on a petition which alleged that the new law is violative of the apex court’s judgment of last year which directed that the decision on appointment of CEC and ECs be made by a panel consisting of the PM, Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of India. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for the petitioner, pressed for an interim order to stay operation of the law but the bench turned down the plea.
The petition, filed by Congress activist Jaya Thakur, alleged that that Sections 7 and 8 are violative of the principle of free and fair elections as it does not provide an “independent mechanism” for appointment of the members of the Election Commission. It contended that the law was enacted to override SC’s March 2023 verdict by the court which had sought transparency in the appointment process by entrusting the task to a panel of the PM, LoP and CJI, taking away the power of the Centre to unilaterally appoint them, a practice which had been in place since Independence.
Law on CEC selection enacted to override SC’s 2023 verdict: Petition
In a major decision to insulate the Election Commission from government’s interference, a five-judge Constitution bench of the apex court had on March 2 unanimously disapproved the system of the Centre appointing members of the poll panel. The court had said any perception that “yes man”, appointed by the Centre in the poll panel, would decide the fate of democracy has to be removed and the Commission should be made “fiercely independent, honest, competent and fair”.
“We declare that as far as appointment to the posts of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners are concerned, the same shall be done by the President of India on the basis of the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and, in case, there is no such leader, the leader of the largest party in the opposition in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. This norm will continue to hold good till a law is made by Parliament,” the apex court had said.
Referring to SC’s 2023 verdict, the petitioner contended that free and fair elections would be compromised under the new mechanism by replacing the CJI by a Union minister in the panel.
“The above said acts of the respondent clearly show that they are compromising the free and fair election because of exclusion of the CJI from the committee and the Prime Minister and his nominee would always be the deciding factor and all the appointments would be done by the ruling party, because one dissent (by LoP) cannot restrain the appointment and hence this process cannot be said to be free and fair,” the petition said.
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