Picking the Watchdog

Context:  

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court directed in a landmark judgment that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners will be appointed by the President on the advice of a panel of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha or the leader of the single largest party in Opposition and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

Present Process of Appointment: 

• Article 324 says the President should appoint the CEC and Commissioners, subject to any law made in that behalf by Parliament. 
  • The convention now is that the Prime Minister chooses a name from among a database of high ranking civil servants and advises the President to make the appointment.

Basis of the Verdict:

• As a constitutional body vested with plenary powers of superintendence, direction and control over elections, the ECI is a vital component of the republic that requires functional freedom and constitutional protection to ensure free and fair elections. 
• The Constitution Bench has pointed out that the original intent of the Constitution makers was that the manner of appointment should be laid down in a parliamentary law. 
• Justice K.M. Joseph, who has authored the main verdict, has based the Court’s decision on “the inertia” of the legislature and the perceived vacuum in the absence of a law.
• There should be no room for an appointing authority to expect reciprocity or loyalty.

Issues that may still appear:

• However, a relevant question is whether the presence of the CJI in the selection panel is the only way in which an institution’s independence can be preserved. 
• There is no clear proof that the independence of the CBI director, who is appointed by a panel that includes the CJI, or his nominee, has been preserved or enhanced. 
• Further, the CJI’s presence may give pre­emptive legitimacy to all appointments and effect objective judicial scrutiny of any error or infirmity in the process.

Significance:

• The Supreme Court verdict taking away the power to appoint members of the Election Commission of India (ECI) from the sole domain of the executive is a major boost to the independence of the election watchdog.

News Source: The Hindu