Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 2: The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the appointment of members of the Election Commission of India (ECI) should be made on the recommendation of a committee made up of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of the single largest opposition party) in the Lok Sabha.
Judges KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy, and CT Ravikumar made up a Constitution Bench that declared that this would be the system in place until the Central government produced an appointment law.
It said, “The Election Commissioners will be appointed by the President of India on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, or leader of largest opposition party in cases where there is not enough numerical strength for a leader of opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.
A group of petitions that argued that the executive branch is in breach of Article 324(2) of the Indian Constitution by having the authority to designate members of the ECI were decided by the court.
The said provision states:
“The Election Commission shall consist of the Chief Election Commissioner and such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix and the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall, subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament, be made by the President.”
The Court highlighted in the opinion delivered by Judge Joseph that there has been a significant increase in the influence of money power and the criminalization of politics, and that a sizable portion of the media has abdicated its responsibility and turned partisan.
On independence of the ECI, it stated,
“An Election Comission that does not guarantee rule of law is against democracy. In its wide spectrum of powers, if exercised illegally or unconstitutionally, it has an effect on the outcomes of political parties…
…Election Comission has to be independent, it cannot claim to be independent then act in an unfair manner. A person in state of obligation to the State cannot have an independent frame of mind. An independent person will not be servile to those in power.”
