Page 2 - Election Commissioners

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Meet the 2 retired IAS officers appointed as Election Commissioners

On March 14, a panel led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi selected bureaucrats Sukhbir Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar for the positions of Election Commissioners (ECs). Watch the video to know more

Supreme Court refuses to stay appointments of new ECs under 2023 law

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the appointments of new election commissioners (ECs) under a 2023 law that excluded the chief justice of India from the selection panel. A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna, Dipankar Datta and Augustine George Masih told the petitioners, who pointed out that a meeting for the selection of ECs was pre-poned, to file a separate application pointing out the fact. Refusing to stay the appointments made in accordance with the 2023 law, the bench said, "Normally and generally, we do not stay a law by way of an interim order." It deferred the hearing on a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of two ECs under the 2023 law. Senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing in the court on behalf of petitioner Jaya Thakur, said when a judgment is passed, there cannot be any transgression. He contended that there was a clear-cut transgression in the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term o

LS polls 2024: Ex-bureaucrats Sukhbir Sandhu, Gyanesh Kumar named new ECs

Former bureaucrats Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar have been named as the new election commissioners by a panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, committee member and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said on Thursday. Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel. He, however, said the Chief Justice of India should have been part of the selection panel and there was no clarity on how six names were shortlisted from over 200 candidates that are said to have come before the search committee headed by the Law Minister. The six names shortlisted were that of Utpal Kumar Singh, Pradeep Kumar Tripathi, Gyanesh Kumar, Indevar Pandey, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Sudhir Kumar Gangadhar Rahate, all former bureaucrats. "Of the six names, the names of Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir .

Row over appointment of EC: SC agrees to hear plea of NGO on March 15

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear on March 15 a plea of an NGO challenging the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel meant for selecting the CEC and the election commissioners. A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna took note of the submissions of lawyer Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms, seeking urgent listing of the plea and said it will be listed on Friday. I just got the message from the CJI that it will be listed on Friday, Justice Khanna said. The NGO challenges the validity of a provision of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. Under the new law, the selection panel includes the prime minister as the chairperson and the leader of opposition and a union minister nominated by the PM are the two members of it. The NGO has moved the top court after Election Commissioner Arun Goel put in his papers recently.

SC to consider listing of plea on restraining Centre to appoint new ECs

The Supreme Court on Monday said that it will consider submission for early listing of a petition seeking to restrain the Centre from appointing new election commissioners as per a 2023 law, the provisions of which have already been challenged in the apex court. Two vacancies of election commissioners have arisen following the resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement. Send an email. We will see, said the bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices JB Pardiwla and Manoj Misra. The plea was mentioned for urgent listing by senior advocate Vikas Sigh and advocate Varun Thakur, appearing for the Congress leader Jaya Thakur. The local Congress leader has challenged the provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and terms of office) Act, 2023. In her application, Thakur informed the court that during the pendency of her plea, in which a notice was issued on ..

PM-chaired panel's meet to appoint 2 ECs advanced to March 14: Report

The prime minister-chaired high-powered committee on selecting election commissioners will now meet on March 14 to finalise the names of two new ECs, top sources said. They said that the Law Ministry has sent an amended communication to all panel members for the meeting to be held now at 12 noon on March 14. The meeting was earlier slated at 6 PM on March 15. Two vacancies of election commissioners came about following the resignation of Arun Goel on Friday and Anup Chandra Pandey's retirement on February 14. The selection panel is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and has a Union minister and the Leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as its members. The election commissioners will be appointed by the president. The sources said the appointment of two new election commissioners is likely to be made by the same day or the next. They said the notice for the meeting to select one EC was earier sent on Saturday afternoon while Goel's resignation was not

EC Arun Goel's sudden resignation led to crisis, says Karti Chidambaram

The sudden resignation of Election Commissioner Arun Goel has led to a Constitutional crisis and yet the central government has not given any explanation on the matter, Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said on Monday. Speaking to reporters here, Karti pointed that no press conference was held and neither was any reason disclosed about the resignation of a person who held a constitutional post. "In a mature democracy, if a senior constitutional functionary resigns, there will be a press conference or there will be a statement, at the least to disclose the reason behind the resignation. His sudden resignation has led to a constitutional crisis and the government has not given any explanation on it," he remarked. It is a matter of anguish that such a development has taken place just before the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls, he said. Commenting on devolution of powers and issues such as levy of cess, he said the Centre does not respect the rights of state governments. Referring

Two election commissioners likely to be appointed by March 15: Report

Two election commissioners are likely to be appointed by March 15 to fill the vacancies created by the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey and the surprise resignation of Arun Goel, sources said on Sunday. Days before the poll panel is expected to announce the schedule for the Lok Sabha polls, Goel resigned on Friday morning. His resignation was accepted by President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday and the Law Ministry issued a notification to announce it. This leaves Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar as the sole member of the poll authority. Pandey had demitted office on February 14 on attaining the age of 65 years. A search committee under Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and comprising the Home Secretary and the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Secretary will first prepare two separate panels of five names each for the two posts. Later, a selection committee headed by the prime minister and comprising a Union minister and Leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha Ad

Do not use children in election campaigning: EC asks political parties

Ahead of Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission on Monday asked political parties not to use children in campaigning "in any form whatsoever", including for distribution of posters and pamphlets or sloganeering. In an advisory sent to parties, the poll panel conveyed its "zero tolerance" towards use of children in any manner during the electoral process by parties and candidates. Political leaders and candidates should not use children for campaign activities in any manner including holding a child in their arms, carrying a child in a vehicle or in rallies, the poll watchdog said. "This prohibition extends to the use of children to create the semblance of a political campaign in any manner including use through poem, songs, spoken words, display of insignia of political party or candidate...," EC said in a statement. However, the mere presence of a child accompanied by their parent or guardian in proximity of a political leader who is not involved in any election campaigning ...

SC refuses to stay Bill on appointment of CEC, ECs; issues notice to Centre

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the new law that provides for appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners by a panel excluding the Chief Justice of India. A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, however, agreed to examine a batch of petitions challenging the new law and issued notice to the Centre. The bench asked senior advocate Vikas Singh, appearing for Congress leader Jaya Thakur, who sought a stay on the new law, to serve a copy of the petition to the Centre's counsel. "Please stay this law. This is against the separation of powers," Singh said. The bench told Singh, "No, without hearing the other side, we can't. We will issue a notice." Several petitions, including Thakur's, have been filed in the apex court amid a political row over dropping the chief justice of India (CJI) from a panel empowered to choose the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs). Advocate Gopal Singh has also moved the t

Number of voters in Tripura rises to 2.85 million, sex ratio improves

The total number of voters in Tripura rose to 28.56 lakh after the revision of the electoral rolls, election officials said on Saturday. Names of 32,218 people were added to the rolls, while names of 13,231 voters were deleted because of their deaths, Additional Chief Electoral Officer UG Mog told PTI. As per the final electoral rolls dated January 1, there are 28,56,925 voters in the state. Of them, 14,35,172 are male, 14,21,679 are female, and 74 transgenders. Following the revision of rolls for the 60 assembly seats, the number of voters in the state increased by 18,987 or 0.66 per cent. Mog said that there has been an improvement in the sex ratio as well in the voters' list. "In the final electoral rolls, the sex ratio has gone up from 989 to 991, which is encouraging, given that more women cast votes than men," he said. The Badharghat assembly seat has the highest number of voters at 62,723, and the Simna seat has the lowest at 38,974. Both are in the West Tripura district.

Parliament passes Bill for CEC, EC appointments, Meghwal critiques old law

The Lok Sabha on Thursday passed after a brief discussion a Bill which seeks to establish a mechanism to appoint the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. The Rajya Sabha has already given its nod to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023. Responding to the debate, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the 1991 Act on the service conditions of the CEC and the ECs was a half-baked attempt and the present Bill covers the areas left out by the previous legislations. The Bill was then passed by a voice vote.

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

Cong requests EC to restrict BRS from stating Rythu Bandhu sum in rallies

The Congress on Sunday requested the Chief Election Commissioner to impose restrictions on BRS, not to mention the disbursement of Rythu Bandhu amount in their poll campaign. The EC on November 24 gave a green signal to the state government to disburse the amount under Rythu Bandhu scheme, an investment support to farmers, before November 28. In a letter addressed to CEC Rajiv Kumar, Congress alleged that BRS leaders are making the EC's nod as a "tool to influence" voters as if they are giving it out of their own pockets. BRS leaders are blaming Congress for claiming that it obstructed the disbursement, which is not correct. After the EC gave clearance, a press release from the state government said that as there are bank holidays on November 25, 26 and 27 and also the Election Commission directing that the distribution of money under Rythu Bandhu is not allowed on November 29 and 30, the funds would be deposited in the farmers' bank accounts through Direct Benefit Transfer ...

Seizures in five election states up 636% in 5 yrs; Telangana tops the list

The EC also released data on seizures that enforcement agencies made in the six assembly elections held since November 2022 but preceding the current round of polls

Rajasthan polls: Over 12,000 elderly, disabled voters to avail home voting

A total of 62,927 voters in the state applied for the home voting facility, which will be carried out till November 19

Rs 63 cr worth drugs, liquor, cash seized after MCC enforced in Rajasthan

Drugs, liquor, gold and cash worth more than Rs 63 crore have been seized in since the state election's model code of conduct (MCC) came into force in Rajasthan

Former chief election commissioner MS Gill dies after brief illness

Former chief election commissioner Manohar Singh Gill died at a south Delhi hospital on Sunday after a brief illness, according to people close to him. He was 86. Gill will be cremated here on Monday, they said. A former bureaucrat, Gill served under Parkash Singh Badal as a young officer when the Shiromani Akali Dal patriarch was the Punjab chief minister. He served as the chief election commissioner (CEC) between December 1996 and June 2001. Gill and GVG Krishnamurty were made members of the Election Commission when TN Seshan was heading the poll panel. It was then that the poll panel became a multi-member body, a former government functionary said. He is perhaps the first former CEC to have joined politics. Gill entered the Rajya Sabha as a Congress member and was made the Union sports minister in 2008. Gill is survived by his wife and three daughters. Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge condoled Gill's demise and lauded his contribution to the development of the nation. "Extr

Freebies announced by political parties have 'tadka' of populism: CEC Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday said the freebies announced by political parties and state governments have a 'tadka' of populism and it is difficult for those who win polls to either implement these sops or stop this practice. Responding to a question on freebies announced by various parties and government ahead of elections, he said while it is the domain of the state governments, they do not remember such sops for five years but announce them just a month or a fortnight before the poll schedule is announced. Kumar made these remarks at a press conference convened here to announce the schedule of elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telengana and Mizoram. He said the matter was at present sub-judice and the poll panel will act as soon as clarity and decision is available on this. He recalled that the EC had recently brought out a proforma for parties and states to explain how and when the promises made by them in their poll manifesto will be ...