The Centre introduced a bill in the Rajya Sabha proposing a new mechanism to select the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) - replacing the Chief Justice of India in the three-member selection panel with a Union Cabinet minister - in effect giving the government a decisive say in appointments to the poll body.
The bill also seeks to downgrade the status and standing of the CEC and two ECs from that equivalent to a Supreme Court judge to that of the Cabinet secretary, as Section 10(1) of the bill dealing with the salary, allowances and other conditions of service states. An expert familiar with the matter said that if the bill is enacted, the ECI’s powers to summon the Cabinet secretary and secretaries for election-related discussions will be curtailed and their rank in the order of precedence will fall lower than even junior ministers.
An election law expert said the status downgrade for the ECI doesn’t sit well with the constitutional arrangement that gives the poll body unfettered powers under Article 324 with respect to conduct of elections and accords it an elevated status by providing for removal of the CEC only through an impeachment motion in Parliament.
By proposing a selection committee comprising the PM, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister (nominated by the PM) to pick the three ECI members, the Centre has deviated from the arrangement proposed by the apex court a few months ago to have the PM, the LoP and the CJI on the panel. However, the SC had said this arrangement was valid till Parliament enacted a law in this regard.
According to the bill, a search committee comprising the cabinet secretary and two other secretary-level officers will shortlist five names to be put up before the selection panel for appointment as members of the poll body. Since the Cabinet secretary and possibly home secretary and legislative affairs secretary will be shortlisting names for appointment as CEC and the two election commissioners, the ECI’s tradition of calling them to Nirvachan Sadan to discuss election-related matters may be affected. “Obviously, EC members will not command the same respect, as comes with the status of an SC judge, from the very bureaucrats who have picked them, including one with an equal standing,” a legal expert said.
The fall in the ‘Order of Precedence’ from ninth to 11th position will not only affect the seating order of the CEC and election commissioners in state functions and ceremonies, but may take away the ‘Z’ level security they get by virtue of their equal status with SC judges. The bill, however, states the change in service conditions, including salary, shall not apply in the case of the incumbent CEC and election commissioners.
A former EC official said the downgraded status proposed in the bill was contrary to the standing enjoyed by members of election management bodies in countries like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico where they are mostly apex court judges with powers to decide election review petitions.
The ECI holds not only parliamentary and assembly polls but also Rajya Sabha and Presidential elections. Legal experts fear that the proposed status downgrade for the poll body may erode its standing both at home and abroad.