The Centre moved a contentious bill in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, 12 December, seeking to form a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, and a Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister to select members of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The bill – Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 – was presented with amendments by Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Upper House of the Indian Parliament.
The bill, which was first introduced in the Rajya Sabha in August of this year, also proposes to bring the status of the CEC and other ECs to that of the Cabinet Secretary. CECs and ECs currently have the status of Supreme Court judges and are appointed by the President, as specified in Article 324(2) of the Indian Constitution.
Key Amendments of the Bill
Among the amendments proposed by the Minister include replacing the equivalence with the salary, leave encashment and dearness allowance of the Cabinet Secretary with that of a Supreme Court judge.
The proposed amendment adds a new clause that would protect the CEC and ECs for actions taken while in office.
Earlier, the bill had proposed a Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary to shortlist names of candidates for the EC. The amendment proposes to replace the Cabinet Secretary with the Law Minister as the head of that committee.
"Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no court shall entertain or continue any civil or criminal proceedings against any person who is or was a Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner for any act, thing or word, committed, done or spoken by him when, or in the course of acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty or function."Amendment to the bill
After the bill was first introduced in August, several former CECs had written to the government expressing concern over the downgrading of the status of the commission.
The Supreme Court had ruled on 2 March this year that the appointment of the ECs would be done on the advice of a committee comprising of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the main Opposition party), and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
The apex court, in a unanimous decision delivered by a five-judge constitution bench led by Justice KM Joseph, stated that this arrangement would be in effect until Parliament enacts a specific law addressing the matter.
“This law will continue to hold good until a law is made by Parliament. Court asks the government to make a necessary change with regard to funding of ECI from the Consolidated Fund of India and need for separate Secretariat."Supreme Court
The apex court was of the firm view that the ECI must remain “aloof” from subjugation by the executive. “A vulnerable Election Commission would result in an insidious situation and detract from its efficient functioning,” the Bench comprising Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar had observed.
In its affidavit submitted to the top court, the government had said that in the absence of legislation, it had followed a “sound practice” of selecting CECs and ECs from the civil services, The Indian Express reported.
“There is a database of serving/retired Officers of the rank of Secretary to the Government of India/Chief Secretaries. The appointees are selected from the said database. The Minister of Law and Justice recommends a panel for the Prime Minister and the President from the database,” the government had reportedly told the court.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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