Political parties in power at the centre force Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) to do their bidding so as to remain in power, thereby, compromising the independence of the Election Commission, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday. .A Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph and also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar noted that there have been many CECs in the recent past with truncated tenures."Since 2015 we have had so many CECs. It could be said that with a truncated tenure, they are making them do their bidding. Same during UPA (government)," Justice Joseph remarked.The Court further said that enormous responsibility lies on the shoulders of the CEC and the person should, therefore, be someone who cannot be bulldozed. The Court in this regard also referred to former CEC TN Sheshan who had introduced electoral reforms and made the Election Commission and robust institution. The Court, therefore, suggested inclusion of the Chief Justice in the committee appointing CEC. "We need someone with character, someone who does not allow himself to be bulldozed ... So the question is who will appoint this person? The point is the least intrusive will be a system when there is a presence of the Chief Justice in the appointment committee," the Court said..The Court was hearing a challenge to the current system of appointing members of the ECI on the ground that the executive enjoys the power to make appointments in violation of Article 342(2) of the Constitution of India.The hearing in the matter will continue on Wednesday..[Read live coverage of Tuesday's hearing]
Political parties in power at the centre force Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) to do their bidding so as to remain in power, thereby, compromising the independence of the Election Commission, the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday. .A Constitution bench headed by Justice KM Joseph and also comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar noted that there have been many CECs in the recent past with truncated tenures."Since 2015 we have had so many CECs. It could be said that with a truncated tenure, they are making them do their bidding. Same during UPA (government)," Justice Joseph remarked.The Court further said that enormous responsibility lies on the shoulders of the CEC and the person should, therefore, be someone who cannot be bulldozed. The Court in this regard also referred to former CEC TN Sheshan who had introduced electoral reforms and made the Election Commission and robust institution. The Court, therefore, suggested inclusion of the Chief Justice in the committee appointing CEC. "We need someone with character, someone who does not allow himself to be bulldozed ... So the question is who will appoint this person? The point is the least intrusive will be a system when there is a presence of the Chief Justice in the appointment committee," the Court said..The Court was hearing a challenge to the current system of appointing members of the ECI on the ground that the executive enjoys the power to make appointments in violation of Article 342(2) of the Constitution of India.The hearing in the matter will continue on Wednesday..[Read live coverage of Tuesday's hearing]