Bill tabled in Rajya Sabha to replace CJI with cabinet minister for selection of CEC, election commissioners | India News

NEW DELHI: The central government on Thursday introduced a bill seeking to replace the chief justice of India (CJI) with a cabinet minister in the committee for the appointment of chief election commissioners (CECs) and commissioners (ECs). The opposition created an uproar to oppose the contentious bill.

Law minister Arjun Ram Meghwal moved the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha in the post-lunch session.
As per the bill, future CECs and ECs will be selected by a three-member committee headed by the prime minister and comprising the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and a cabinet minister.

Opposition parties, including the Congress and the AAP, raised strong objections to the bill accusing the government of diluting a Supreme Court Constitution bench order.
The bill comes months after the Supreme Court in March ruled that the selection panel should comprise the prime minister, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha and CJI, till a law is framed by Parliament on the appointment of the CEC and ECs.
A vacancy will arise in the Election Commission early next year when Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey demits office on February 14 on attaining the age of 65 years.
His retirement will come just days before the likely announcement of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll schedule by the commission. On the past two occasions, the commission had announced parliamentary polls in March.
The apex court in its March verdict had aimed at insulating the appointment of the CEC and ECs from the executive‘s interference.
The bill seeks to regulate the appointment of the CEC and other ECs.
According to the bill, the CEC and ECs shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a selection committee consisting of the prime minister, who will be the chairperson; the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, and a Union cabinet minister to be nominated by the prime minister.
It also states that the appointment of the CEC and ECs “shall not be invalid” merely by reason of any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of the selection committee.
(With inputs from PTI)