Congress questions govt's haste in selecting CEC amid pending Supreme Court case

The Congress on Tuesday raised concerns over the government's “haste and hurry” in holding a meeting for the selection of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), especially when a case regarding the composition of the selection committee is still pending in the Supreme Court.

The matter is scheduled for a hearing on February 19.

Briefing reporters at the AICC office here, party treasurer Ajay Maken, senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Gurdeep Sappal pointed out that the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Office, Terms of Office) Act 2023 has been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Asked whether Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi raised the issue in the meeting of the selection committee, Maken responded, “This is the view of the party, and Rahul Gandhi is our leader.”

Singhvi, a senior lawyer, emphasized that the current selection committee, consisting of the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister, and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, violates a Supreme Court ruling from March 2023.

The court had ordered that the selection committee for the CEC and other Election Commissioners should include the Chief Justice of India, along with the PM and Leader of Opposition.

Singhvi said the top court had observed that the executive alone being involved in the appointment, ensures that the commission becomes and remains a partisan body and a branch of the executive.

“The independence of the Commission is intimately interlinked with the process of appointment”, Singhvi said, quoting the court order.

He said the court had observed that “in order to allow independence in the functioning of the Election Commission as a Constitutional body, the office of Chief Election Commissioners as well as the Election Commissioners have to be insulated from the executive interference”.

“The (existing) committee, with a two-third vote being given to the Centre, directly offends these clear and precise caveats of the Supreme Court of India and is therefore neither bona fide in its purpose or constitution”, Singhvi said.

The senior Congress leader also referred to the Supreme Court's judgment, which stated that “an independent appointment mechanism would guarantee eschewing of even the prospect of bias.”

He questioned the government's motives, asking, “Why else would the Supreme Court's directive to include the Chief Justice in the committee be disregarded?”