- The framers of our Constitution were not only farsighted in their envisioning of the future occurrences in the country but also were pragmatic in executing various citizen-friendly clauses as well as administration nitty-gritty back then. One of the most significant aspects of the Constitution is the clearly demarcated responsibilities viz. the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. Our forefathers had the wisdom, intelligence, and amazing anticipation while they went about framing the Constitution. No wonder, the Indian democracy that derives its existence from the Constitution is well respected, acknowledged for its sustainability and showered with praise around the world.
PC: Civil Hindipedia
- Now there are few incidents where one of the pillars of the Constitution has attempted to encroach on the other leading to avoidable frictions. It’s none other than the judiciary often finding itself in the news for attempting to get into other Constitutional pillars’ domain leading to monikers like judicial activism being bandied against the higher echelons of the judiciary. It’s another matter altogether that the other two arms have stoutly defended their terrain despite efforts to sneak in. One such incident is being played out presently when the legal challenge to the appointment of election commissioners saw the Supreme Court bench make strong observations on the current selection process.
- The bench suggested that the Chief Justice of India’s presence in the appointment committee would be appropriate and that Chief Election Commissioners were getting very brief tenures despite the six-year term provided for them. Of course, the Centre countered, and rightly so, questioning the wisdom of judicial intervention and citing the separation of powers doctrine. Yes, demands for bipartisan appointments to the Election Commission have been around for decades, but governments have seldom agreed. In that context, the present constitutional challenge is an interesting development.
PC: S N Aggarwal
- Mind you, EC as an institution plays a stellar role in safeguarding democracy unfailingly ensuring that the writ of the voter carries the day, and continuity or transition of governments happen without any questions posed over the election process. This has been observed election after election. This is a phenomenal achievement, which even the ongoing hearings must applaud. Nonetheless, the shift towards a bipartisan, consultative appointment process would be desirable because that has been the larger trend of India’s legislative and democratic evolution in the past two decades. However, SC’s quibble that CECs aren’t getting the fixed six-year tenure is puzzling.
- Needless to mention, what is more important is a CEC’s independence and the difficult removal process requiring impeachment ensures the post has the security of tenure. Going ahead, the two other election commissioners must also be similarly protected, since conventionally the seniormost becomes CEC later. The pricklier question is whether SC should intervene in the appointment to a coordinate institution since no abuse of power has happened. The answer is no. The Parliament alone should decide this.
