The Central Government has said in an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that for the last 73 years, the Election Commissioners in the country were being appointed by the Central Government, so why is the new appointment being disputed now.
Along with this, the recent appointment of two election commissioners has been defended. A panel comprising the prime minister, his cabinet colleague and the leader of the opposition had on March 14 appointed retired IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu as election commissioners.
The Central Government has said that the presence of a judicial member in the selection committee for the appointment of Election Commissioners is not necessary for the independence of the Election Commission.
The matter of selection and appointment of two recently appointed commissioners has reached the Supreme Court, on which the court had sought a reply from the Central Government.
In its reply, the Central Government has said that even before the coming into force of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act 2023, the appointment of Election Commissioners during the 73 years from 1950 to 2023, specifically Was being done by the executive.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court on Wednesday, the Center also argued that the deliberations of the high-level committee under the CEC Act before the appointment of these officers were only for cooperation. It said the qualifications of the two recently appointed election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Gyanesh Kumar, have never been questioned.
“No objection has been raised to the qualification or capacity of any person named in the list to serve as the Election Commissioner,” the Ministry of Law and Justice said in its affidavit. “No allegations have been made against the appointed election commissioners, instead, efforts are being made to create political controversy on the basis of unrestrained statements.”
Let us tell you that after the resignation of Arun Goyal on March 9, only the Chief Election Commissioner was left in the Election Commission. Therefore, the Central Government has appointed Election Commissioners on two vacant posts.
The government said that high constitutional officials like the Election Commissioner should be assumed to act impartially and in good faith in the public interest.
The central government responded, “It is a fundamental misconception that independence in any authority can be maintained only if the selection committee is of a particular formulation.”
“To imply that selection committees without judicial members will always be partisan is completely wrong,” the affidavit said. The government said the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner is a purely executive decision taken under Article 324(2) of the Constitution.