Election Commissioners to retain status at par with SC judges; bill in RS

The new bill seeks to nullify the Supreme Court judgement, which stated that a committee comprising the PM, LoP in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India must pick the CEC and ECs

The central government has decided to retain the status of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners at par with Supreme Court (SC) judges in a bill which is set to be moved in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, according to a report by NDTV.

Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is set to move the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023, in the Rajya Sabha for consideration.

Also, the search committee will comprise the law minister and two secretaries of the Union Government, according to the bill. An earlier version of the bill had also proposed an initial search committee comprising the cabinet secretary and two senior officials to decide on a panel of five names for consideration by the selection panel. The cabinet secretary in this committee has now been replaced with the Union law minister in the latest iteration.

The proposed bill aims to establish a committee of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister nominated by the PM to pick members of the Election Commission. It seeks to nullify the Supreme Court judgement, which stated that a committee comprising the PM, LoP in Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India must pick the CEC and ECs.

Earlier, the Centre wanted to table the bill in the special session in September but decided to postpone it after hefty resistance from the opposition. The Congress had criticised the bill, terming it as "another attempt to control important institutions".

A five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court, in March, had stated that the appointments of Election Commissioners should be done on the advice of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India.

The court had said that the current practice of appointment of Election Commissioners will be enforced until the Parliament makes a law.