How Centre’s new bill negates Supreme Court ruling on appointing poll panel chief

After the Delhi Ordinance bill, another bill was moved by the government to negate a Supreme Court Constitution Bench judgment on appointment of Election Commissioners.

The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 negates the Supreme Court judgment from March this year that stated that election commissioners must be appointed by a high-powered committee of the Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha.

The Supreme Court had specifically said that appointment of election commissioners should be outside the control of the government.

The centre, through its new bill, has diluted this judgment and brought the appointment of the election commissioners back under the purview of the government, where appointments will be made by a selection committee that will comprise the prime minister, LoP in Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister.

The bill proposes to replace the Chief Justice of India with a cabinet minister in the committee for selection of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.

The Supreme Court in its judgment had said that the high-powered committee of the PM, CJI and LoP would be an interim arrangement to fill the gap and that Parliament must come up with a law regarding the appointments to the Election Commission.

The Supreme Court at the same time, had also, however, clarified that the law that will be brought by the Parliament “could not be one to perpetuate what is already permitted, namely appointment at the absolute and sole discretion of the Executive. A law would have to be necessarily different”.

With the Centre giving the majority power in the selection committee to itself regarding the appointments, the question is to what extent the spirit of the Supreme Court judgment has been negated?