THE NEWS FREEDOM
NEW DELHI, MARCH 20
The Centre government defended its decision to appoint two new election commissioners (ECs) under a 2023 law that excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection committee. In a submission to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, the Centre argued that the independence of the Election Commission is not contingent upon the presence of a judicial member on the committee.
The Union Law Ministry today filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court, rejecting claims by petitioners that the appointments of the two election commissioners on March 14 were rushed to preempt potential court orders the next day. These orders were expected during hearings on interim relief regarding challenges to the 2023 law.
The affidavit was submitted in response to several pleas, including those from Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms, challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act, 2023.
“It is submitted that the case of the petitioners is premised on one fundamental fallacy that the independence can only be maintained in any authority when the selection committee is of a particular formulation. It must be noted that the independence of the Election Commission, or any other organisation or authority, does not arise from and is not attributable to the presence of a judicial member in the selection committee,” the affidavit stated as per the media reports.