Consent Of PM, Leader Of Opposition, CJI Necessary For Appointment Of CEC And ECs: Supreme Court
New Delhi, 2nd March 2023: The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) will be appointed by the President on the advice of a committee consisting of the Prime Minister (PM), the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph, in a unanimous judgement, said the rule would remain in force until a law is made by Parliament on the issue.
The top court said that if there is no leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, the leader of the largest opposition party will be on the committee to appoint the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. The bench delivered its verdict on petitions seeking a collegium-like system for the appointment of Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioners.
A bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar stressed purity in the election process and said that democracy is intrinsically linked to the will of the people. Justice Rastogi, who concurred with the main judgment authored by Justice Joseph, delivered a separate judgment with his 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. The purity of elections should be maintained in a democracy, otherwise, it will have disastrous consequences.
The bench said the Election Commission should work within the constitutional framework and law and cannot act unreasonably. The Election Commission, which does not ensure an independent and impartial role in the process, guarantees a breakdown of the rule of law, which is the bedrock of democracy.
The bench said that democracy is fragile and will collapse if ‘lip service’ is paid for the rule of law.
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