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The Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the Central government about the rationale for including a Union Cabinet Minister in the selection committee tasked with appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma said that for the Election Commission to not only be independent but also appear to be independent. "It is not enough for the Election Commission to be independent; it must also appear to be independent. The third member of the selection panel should be a neutral person who can make the choice. Why should a Cabinet Minister be part of it?" Justice Datta asked Attorney General R Venkataramani. Venkataramani responded that the perception of independence is significant and would ultimately be reflected in the conduct and decisions of the Election Commissioners after their appointment The apex court was hearing a batch of pleas challenging the validity of the 2023 law relating to the appointment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs), which dropped the CJI from the selection panel for Election Commissioners. In 2024, the apex court had declined to put on hold the two Election Commissioners' appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. The pleas were filed in the apex court seeking a stay on the Act by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Jaya Thakur (General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee), Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram, Dharmendra Singh Kushwaha, and advocate Gopal Singh. The pleas challenged the Election Commissioners' law that has dropped the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel for appointing the CEC and other Election Commissioners (ECs). The petitions stated that the provisions of the enactment are violative of the principle of free and fair elections since it does not provide an "independent mechanism" for the appointment of the members of the Election Commission of India (ECI) The petitions said the Act excludes the Chief Justice of India from the process of appointment of the members of ECI and it's in violation of the March 2, 2023 verdict of the top court which had ordered that the appointment of members of the ECI be done on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha till a law is made by the Parliament. By excluding the CJI from the process, the judgement of the Supreme Court stands diluted as the Prime Minister, and his nominee will always be "the deciding factor" in the appointments, said the petitions. The petitions in particular challenged Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The provisions lay down the procedure for the appointment of ECI members. They sought direction to the Centre to include the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee for the appointment of the CEC and ECs which currently comprises of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The Act replaced the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. (ANI)
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