India

Supreme Court’s Historic Order On Election Officers Selection

Supreme Court on Thursday orders the establishment of a bipartisan panel that will include the opposition leader to elect election commissioners. At present, the president of the country appoints the chief election commissioner and two commissioners for a tenure of six years each. Typically, they are former bureaucrats.

Ending a practice of the government effectively choosing election commissioners, the Supreme Court said that the new panel will consist of the prime minister, the chief justice, and opposition leaders.

Justice K M Joseph said, “This norm will continue to hold good till a law is made by parliament”.

He further said, “The election commission of India is to perform the arduous and unenviable task of remaining aloof from all forms of subjugation by and interference from the executive”.

He was delivering the order of a constitution bench that heard several petitions calling for an independent committee to appoint election commissioners.

Dr. S Y Quraishi, India’s former chief election commissioner said, “our long pending demands are being met”.

He took to Twitter to express his happiness. He tweeted, “At last, SC has clinched it. The demand has been pending for two decades. Good for the perception of neutrality of the Election Commission”, through his official Twitter handle.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan was representing the petitioners, and termed the judgment “historic”.

Prashant Bhushan said, “They have said the independence of the election commission is absolutely essential for democracy, and for that independence to be assured, you cannot have a system where the government alone appoints the election commissioners”.

Also read: SpaceX Launches Crew-6 With US, Arab & Russian Astronauts To Space

Spriha Rai

Recent Posts

JP Nadda Slams Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Match-Fixing’ Claims As ‘Desperation Of Losing’ Polls

Rahul Gandhi's opinion piece appeared in a national daily and sparked political uproar. Opposition parties…

17 mins ago

Poverty In India Reduced Via Tangible Boost In Household Living Standards, Incomes

In 2022–23, poverty under the revised $3.00 line stood at just 5.25 per cent in…

37 mins ago

Chhattisgarh: Seven Maoists Killed In Indravati National Park Operation

Five Maoists were killed in two separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district,…

1 hour ago

Carney Invites Modi To G7 Summit, Highlights India’s Global Supply Chain Role

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said the most populous country, with the fifth-largest economy, must…

2 hours ago

RBI Frontloads Rate Cuts To Boost Growth Amid Low Inflation: Crisil

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has frontloaded its rate cuts to support economic growth,…

2 hours ago

PM Modi Urges Global Action On Coastal Resilience At Nice Summit

PM Narendra Modi on Saturday called for urgent global action to build infrastructure that can…

2 hours ago