A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in its order has said that the election commissioners are appointed by the President of India, the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party) and the Chief Justice of India i.e. CGI. Will be done on the advice of the committee.
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners will be made by the President on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, in a unanimous verdict, said the rule would remain in force till Parliament enacts a law on the issue.
The top court said that if there is no leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, then the leader of the largest opposition party will be included in the committee on appointment of election commissioners and chief election commissioner.
The bench delivered its verdict on petitions seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. The bench also comprised Justice Ajay Rastogi, Justice Aniruddha Bose, Justice Hrishikesh Roy and Justice CT Ravikumar. The bench emphasized on correctness in the election process and said that democracy is intrinsically linked to the will of the people.
Justice Rastogi, agreeing with the judgment authored by Justice Joseph, delivered a separate judgment with his own reasoning. The apex court said that elections in a democracy must undoubtedly be fair and it is the responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure its purity.
He said that in a democracy the purity of elections should be maintained otherwise it would have disastrous consequences. The bench said that the Election Commission should work within the constitutional framework and law and it cannot act in an unwarranted manner.
The Constitution Bench said that if the Election Commission does not ensure an independent and impartial role in the process, it may lead to the collapse of the rule of law, which is the basis of democracy. The bench said democracy is fragile and “rhetoric” on the rule of law can be harmful to it.
