Towards equality of Election Commissioners 

(MainsGS2:Separation of powers between various organs dispute redressal mechanisms and institutions.)

Context:

• Recently, the Supreme Court said the government pays mere “lip-service” to the independence of the Election Commissioners and this is evident from the way the tenures of Chief Election Commissioners (CECs) have “slid” down from over eight years in the 1950s to just about a few hundred days after 2004.

The idea of a collegium:

• The Dinesh Goswami Committee in 1990 suggested that the Chief Election Commissioner be appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Leader of the Opposition (and in case the Leader of the Opposition was not available, then consultation be held with the leader the largest opposition group in the Lok Sabha). 
• It said this process should have statutory backing and applied the same criteria to the appointments of Election Commissioners, along with consultation with the Chief Election Commissioner.
• The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution, under Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah, said that the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners should be appointed on the recommendation of a body comprising the Prime Minister, the Leaders of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
• The 255th Report of the Law Commission, chaired by Justice A.P. Shah, said the appointment of all the Election Commissioners should be made by the President in consultation with a three-member collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha (or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha), and the Chief Justice of India. 
• It also suggested measures to safeguard Election Commissioners from arbitrary removal, in a manner similar to what is accorded to the Chief Election Commissioner, who can only be removed by impeachment.

About T N Seshan:

• Mooting the idea of including the Chief Justice of India in the appointment committee to select the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to ensure “neutrality”, the Supreme Court said it wants a CEC of strong character like the late T N Seshan.
• Tirunellai Narayana Iyer Seshan, or T N Seshan as he was commonly called, was appointed the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) on December 12, 1990 with a tenure till December 11, 1996.
• Established in 1950 as the constitutional authority to hold free and fair elections in India, the Election Commission of India was not more than an observer of elections until 1990. 
• At a time when it was normal to bribe voters, Seshan enforced the authority of the EC as per its powers laid out in the Constitution.
•  He changed the process of conducting elections in the nation and introduced a list of 150 malpractices during elections, including distribution of liquor, bribing voters, ban on writing on walls, use of religion in election speeches etc. 
• He introduced voter ID cards, the Model Code of Conduct, and enforced a limit to poll expenses.

Protection to Election Commissioners:

• Election Commissioners should offer the same protection from arbitrary removal as enjoyed by the Chief from the day of appointment as without this, they may hesitate to act independently, which they otherwise might if they were truly secure. 
• In the absence of full constitutional security, an Election Commissioner could feel they must keep on the right side of the Chief Election Commissioner and might also feel they should remain within the ambit favored by the government. 
• With such misgivings, an Election Commissioner can never be sure whether they will automatically be elevated to the top post because nowhere has elevation been statutorily decreed.

Conclusion:

• Strengthened by a broad-based selection by the top constitutional luminaries of the country, the Election Commission must now equally be protected from arbitrary removal by a constitutional amendment that would ensure a removal process that currently applies only to the Chief Election Commissioner.