In a major step months before the General Elections, the Supreme Court on Tuesday found ambiguity in the appointment process of Election Commissioners and referred the question to a Constitution Bench for a close look. The order passed by a Bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice S.K. Kaul came on a PIL filed by Anoop Baranwal seeking an independent mechanism for appointment of ECs outside the exclusive power of the government Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for Mr. Baranwal, argued that appointments of ECs should be made under a collegium system The appointment process of ECs should be in tandem with that of other top constitutional functionaries There is a gap in the law as far as appointment of ECs are concerned. It is necessary to plug the gap to ensure the independence and dignity of the institution. The apex chad even prima facie agreed to a gap caused by the lack of a parliamentary law which transparently spells out the process of appointment of an election commissioner.
Constitution Bench to decide an ‘independent mechanism’ to appoint Election Commissioners
