SC delivers crucial judgment on EC appointments
On Thursday, March 2, the Supreme Court of India passed a very important judgment—the election commissioners (ECs), including the chief election commissioner, would be selected by a panel of three people, comprising the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition (or, if there is no official leader of Opposition (LOP), the leader of the single largest party in the opposition) and the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India.
Till now, members of the Election Commission were appointed by the President, on the recommendation of the prime minister. The new system will make the appointments much less biased in favour of the ruling party/parties.
The judgment came in response to a petition which sought a collegium-like system for the appointment of election commissioners, much like what exists for appointing the CBI director or head of the anti-corruption watchdog, Lokpal, as existing process was driven by the “whims and fancies of the executive”.
In recent times, the government has been facing a lot of criticism for its choice of election commissioners (including the way Arun Goel was appointed an EC within 24 hours of his retirement) and the election commissioners for their biased decisions—from the Opposition parties and like-minded individuals, including many activists. Hence, the latest decision has come in for a lot of praise.
However, there is still a nagging worry, as some have pointed out. The Supreme Court also said that its order will remain in force “until a law is made by parliament”. This loophole, they said, might be used by the government to weaken the Supreme Court order.
