In what is being described by some legal luminaries as a case of judicial overreach and by some others as a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday laid down some basic ground rules for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners. The process is similar to what is in practice for some others positions and entails that in future, the appointment of the three Election Commissioners would be made on the the recommendations of a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of Opposition or the leader of the largest party in Parliament besides the Chief Justice of India. The matter concerns “core issues of the Constitution and the Rule of Law which were being undermined’’, the Supreme Court stated. The matter had come up before a five-member bench of the apex Court headed by Justice K.M.Joesph, which pointed out that certain procedural lapses had been observed and the “lightening speed’’ with which Arun Goel was inducted as an Election Commissioner on November 18, 2022 even though the vacancy had occurred on May 5th, 2022, did not reflect well on the matter. The Court was of the view that the Election Commissioners should be appointed ideally for a period of six years, which was the tenure of the post in order to allow those holding office to maintain continuity and ensure smooth functioning of the Election Commission. The Supreme Court also maintained that this procedure would continue unless the legislature brings in a new law to spell out the appointment process. The Apex Court’s order seeks to maintain a delicate balance between the issue of separation of powers which give an overriding right to the judiciary to step in if the laws made by the legislature were either insufficient or inadequate vis-à-vis the overall provisions of the Constitution, which always remained paramount. Another point which was highlighted in the observations was that the Election Commissioners need not be always from the bureaucracy. It was a vital opinion since it brought back memories of the time when T.N.Seshan was the Chief Election Commissioner and GVG Krishnamurthy, who had deep and exceptional understanding of legal matters, was often able to check his Boss by presenting legal and constitutional arguments. In other words, it would be good if other than retired civil servants, people with judicial background or those well versed with constitutional affairs also get considered. Significantly, the Apex Court’s order comes when the Election Commission has been under fire for both the hurried appointment of Goel and now the allotment of the Shiv Sena symbol to the Shinde faction. However, it does not take away from the good work done by the Election Commission in the past. It is a matter of great satisfaction when the country goes through one election after the other every year, the Election Commission, has overall conducted all the polls in a very satisfactory manner. It is to the credit of the Election Commission, that polls involving nearly a 100 crore people, are held in the largest democracy extremely well. It is another matter that the issue of the EVM’s being susceptible to hacking keeps getting raised with no fool proof evidence to establish this, coming in public domain. Effectively, the Apex Court intervention is to ensure that the credibility of the Election Commission does not get eroded under any circumstances. The ball is now in the court of the Executive and the Legislature in case they wish to bring about a new law.In what is being described by some legal luminaries as a case of judicial overreach and by some others as a landmark judgement, the Supreme Court on Thursday laid down some basic ground rules for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election Commissioners. The process is similar to what is in practice for some others positions and entails that in future, the appointment of the three Election Commissioners would be made on the the recommendations of a three-member panel comprising the Prime Minister, the leader of Opposition or the leader of the largest party in Parliament besides the Chief Justice of India. The matter concerns “core issues of the Constitution and the Rule of Law which were being undermined’’, the Supreme Court stated. The matter had come up before a five-member bench of the apex Court headed by Justice K.M.Joesph, which pointed out that certain procedural lapses had been observed and the “lightening speed’’ with which Arun Goel was inducted as an Election Commissioner on November 18, 2022 even though the vacancy had occurred on May 5th, 2022, did not reflect well on the matter. The Court was of the view that the Election Commissioners should be appointed ideally for a period of six years, which was the tenure of the post in order to allow those holding office to maintain continuity and ensure smooth functioning of the Election Commission. The Supreme Court also maintained that this procedure would continue unless the legislature brings in a new law to spell out the appointment process. The Apex Court’s order seeks to maintain a delicate balance between the issue of separation of powers which give an overriding right to the judiciary to step in if the laws made by the legislature were either insufficient or inadequate vis-à-vis the overall provisions of the Constitution, which always remained paramount. Another point which was highlighted in the observations was that the Election Commissioners need not be always from the bureaucracy. It was a vital opinion since it brought back memories of the time when T.N.Seshan was the Chief Election Commissioner and GVG Krishnamurthy, who had deep and exceptional understanding of legal matters, was often able to check his Boss by presenting legal and constitutional arguments. In other words, it would be good if other than retired civil servants, people with judicial background or those well versed with constitutional affairs also get considered. Significantly, the Apex Court’s order comes when the Election Commission has been under fire for both the hurried appointment of Goel and now the allotment of the Shiv Sena symbol to the Shinde faction. However, it does not take away from the good work done by the Election Commission in the past. It is a matter of great satisfaction when the country goes through one election after the other every year, the Election Commission, has overall conducted all the polls in a very satisfactory manner. It is to the credit of the Election Commission, that polls involving nearly a 100 crore people, are held in the largest democracy extremely well. It is another matter that the issue of the EVM’s being susceptible to hacking keeps getting raised with no fool proof evidence to establish this, coming in public domain. Effectively, the Apex Court intervention is to ensure that the credibility of the Election Commission does not get eroded under any circumstances. The ball is now in the court of the Executive and the Legislature in case they wish to bring about a new law.