CEC
SELECTION PANEL - POLITY
News:
Bill
to replace CJI from selection panel for CEC runs contrary to govt.’s own
committee recommendation
What's
in the news?
● The
Bill to replace the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the committee to select
the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners runs
contrary to a recommendation made by the government’s own committee.
Key
takeaways:
● A
bill scheduled for introduction in the Rajya Sabha proposes that a three-member committee led by the prime
minister will be responsible for appointing future chief election
commissioners and election commissioners.
Panel
according to the Bill:
● Panel
will also include the leader of the
opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Cabinet Minister.
● This
diverges from a Supreme Court ruling in March, which stated that the
committee's composition should consist of the prime minister, the leader of the
opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
Issues:
● Appointment process
of CEC and other EC's.
● Removal
process of Election commissioners.
● Funding
pattern of Election commission.
Supreme
Court verdict:
● High power committee:
Consisting of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha or leader
of largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India
must pick the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners
(ECs).
○ This
will be subject to any law to be made by Parliament.
● Article 324(2)
- 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
removal process of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners
should be different as of now.
● The
Supreme Court ruled that the Permanent secretariat for the ECI and
the Election commission expenditure shall be charged on from the consolidated
fund of India.
Current
process of appointing CEC and EC:
● The
Law Minister suggests a pool of
suitable candidates to the Prime Minister for consideration.
● Prime Minister
selects the suitable candidate and suggests the President to make an
appointment.
● As
per Article 324 President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and other
Election Commissioners.