New Election Commissioners: 18 Mar 2024

Why in news?

• The President has appointed Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, both retired IAS officers, as Election Commissioners (ECs). 
• They are first to be appointed under the new law, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

How the new EC’s selected:

• Selected by a three-member Selection Committee: Comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, as leader of the largest party in the Opposition.
• They were chosen out of a shortlisted panel of six names. 

• It was  done by a committee which is headed by the Union Minister for Law and Justice and includes two officials of the rank of Secretary to the government.

SC Rule on the process:

• In the case of Anoop Baranwal versus Union of India:  A five-member Constitution Bench ruled on the power of appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners (ECs).
• The ruling emphasized that the power to appoint CEC and ECs was not exclusively for the executive as per the Constitution makers’ intention.
• Since no law was enacted by Parliament regarding the appointment process, the court established an interim arrangement.
• According to this arrangement, a three-member committee was to make the appointments. This committee included the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest party in the Opposition), and the Chief Justice of India.
• In response to the court’s interim arrangement, Parliament passed the 2023 Act.
• The Act received presidential assent and was officially notified in December 2023.

Criticism against the act:

• Critics of the new Act have raised concerns that it removes the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel and includes a Union Minister instead.
• This change results in giving the executive a two-one majority in the three-member committee responsible for appointments.

Government’s Argument:

• The government argues that the Act does not completely exclude the CJI from the appointment process.
• They claim that the inclusion of the CJI in the selection panel was a temporary measure until a proper law was enacted.

Supreme Court’s Response:

• Despite challenges, the Supreme Court has consistently refused to grant a stay on the implementation of the new Act.

Petition Against the Appointment of ECs:

• Petitioners have once again approached the court, this time challenging the appointment of two Election Commissioners (ECs).
• Their main argument is that the Act goes against the key principle established in the Constitution Bench judgment, which aimed to remove executive influence from the appointment process.