Free and fair elections in the country are a very important part of the constitution. To do this properly, the Election Commission must be fully independent. The Supreme Court said on Thursday that the independence of the Election Commission is not enough, It will prove to everyone that it is independent and impartial‘b must be A bench of Justice Dipankar Dutta and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma made the comments while hearing a petition filed against the new law regarding appointment of Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioner.
In March 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that Prime Minister Dr, A committee comprising the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court will appoint the Election Commissioners. However, Parliament later passed a new law removing the Chief Justice from the Selection Committee and replacing him with a Union Cabinet Minister. After the new law came into effect on January 2, 2024, several petitions were filed in court challenging its validity.
At the hearing, Attorney General R Venkataramani argued for the government that it is only Parliament’s right to legislate. He said that the Parliament is not bound to follow the provisions of the previous judgment of the Supreme Court. “Just call the law unconstitutional without looking at whether the Election Commission has really shown lack of independence in its work,” he added.‘b cannot be He also urged the court not to interfere in the work of Parliament.
In response, the court said, if there is a minister selected by the Prime Minister himself, the neutrality of the selection committee can be questioned. Justice Dutta made it clear that the court knows its boundaries and will never cross them. The court is currently considering referring the landmark case to a larger five-member constitution bench, which is still hearing.
