Government introduces bill to remove CJI from panel appointing CEC, ECs in Rajya Sabha.

The government on Thursday tabled in the Rajya Sabha the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, which seeks to exclude the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the panel to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs).

The bill says the panel for these appointments shall comprise the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet minister.

The bill was moved months after a Supreme Court constitution bench in March ruled a panel comprising the Prime Minister, LoP, and the CJI shall appoint the CEC and ECs until Parliament brings a law in this regard.

The court gave the ruling saying the independence of ECI requires a collegium and that purity of the election process must be maintained to preserve democracy or else it would lead to disastrous consequences.

The bench said the leader of the single largest party in Parliament will be included in the collegium to appoint the CEC and ECs in the absence of an LoP.

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is a three-member body, with a CEC and two ECs. Under Article 324(2) of the Constitution, the President is empowered to appoint the CEC and ECs. This provision stipulates that the President, who acts on the aid and advice of the Prime Minister and the council of ministers, will make the appointments “subject to the provisions of any law made on that behalf by Parliament”.

With no such law having been framed, CEC and ECs were appointed by the Prime Minister and the council of ministers under the seal of the President. The rules for such appointments were also silent on the qualification of a candidate.