In place of the CJI proposed by the Supreme Court, the Bill suggests including a Union minister on the selection panel.
Digital Desk: The Centre on Thursday (August 10) tabled the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill in the Parliament to regulate the appointment, conditions of service, and term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election Commissioners.
The Bill proposes that CECs and ECs be chosen by a committee made up of the prime minister, the opposition leader (LoP), and a Union minister the prime minister designates. In place of the CJI proposed by the Supreme Court, the Bill suggests including a Union minister on the selection panel.
The Bill also aims to create a process for the Election Commission (EC) to do business.
Although the details of the Bill were not immediately accessible, the Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in March protecting the nomination of the CEC and election commissioners from executive meddling. It had decided that the President will choose them following the counsel of a committee made up of the prime minister, the LoP in the Lok Sabha, and the CJI.
In a unanimous decision, a five-judge constitution bench led by Justice KM Joseph decided that this rule would remain in effect until Parliament passed a law on the subject.
When Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey leaves his position on February 14 after reaching the age of 65, a vacancy will arise in the election panel early in the next year. Just a few days before the Election Commission's anticipated announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections scheduled, he would announce his retirement. The commission had already announced parliamentary elections for March on two other occasions.
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