Independence of Election Commission hampered by government: Supreme Court
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has said that the government was ensuring the independence of election commissioners only on paper, as was evident from duration of the tenures of the election commissioners, The Hindu reported.
A Constitution bench headed by Justice K M Joseph was hearing on Tuesday petitioners seeking directions to ensure that the Election Commission is able to work as an independent body.
The Court pointed out that the tenures of the chief election commissioners (CEC), which had been more than eight years in the 1950s, had reduced to only a few hundred days since 2004 and that no CEC had completed a full term of six years since 1996, it is reported.
The government, with the knowledge of the date of birth of officials, has been ensuring that no CEC gets a full term, the bench reportedly remarked, adding that the trend has continued with every successive government.
A law regarding the appointment of ECs had not been framed by the Parliament yet, in spite of the mandate of Article 324(2) of the Constitution and the recommendations of the Dinesh Goswami Committee in 1990 to foster greater independence for the Commission. The Article 324(2) allows the Parliament to make laws regarding the appointment of the chief election commissioner as well as other election commissioners, the Court pointed out.
The petitioners had suggested to the Supreme Court to direct the setting up of a selection committee for the poll panel that would function similar to the commission to select the director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The committee to select the director of the CBI comprises the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition.
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LIVE | Panchayat Election Results: Countdown to vote counting....
New Delhi: The countdown has begun for the counting of votes for the Assembly elections in five states that have captured the attention of people across the country.
The counting of votes for the Assembly constituencies of West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and the Union Territory of Puducherry will begin simultaneously at 8 am, and the fate of candidates in a total of 824 constituencies will be decided shortly.
The counting of postal ballots will take place first, followed by the counting of EVM votes in several rounds.
