Election commission of India-

• Democracy of any country depends upon Electoral system of that country, if this system is not fair and transparent than it can endanger democratic system of any country.

• In India to strengthen this system, constitution provides for Formation of Election commission of India.

• Election Commission of India which is responsible for superintendence direction and control of all elections. It is responsible for conducting elections to both the Houses of Parliament and State Legislatures and for the offices of President and Vice-President

Formation and Composition- 

• The Election Commission was established in accordance with the Constitution on 25th January 1950.

Constitutional Provision -

• Article 324 to 329 and Part XV of the constitution deals with powers, function, tenure, eligibility, etc of the commission and the member.

Composition-

• The Election Commission consists of the Chief Election Commissioner and such other Election Commissioners as may be decided by the President from time to time.

• The first Chief Election Commissioner was appointed in 1950.

• The Election Commission became a multi-member body on 16 October 1989 when the President appointed two more Election Commissioners.

• The secretariat of the commission is located in New Delhi.

Appointment –

• There is no qualification like educational, legal, administrative or judicial for the appointment of members of the election commission in our constitution and it has authorized parliament to make rules of appointment of Election commission.

How Election commissioners are appointed or selected ?

• Till now there is no law regarding the appointment of ECs and thus it is the government of the time whose council of ministers in consultation with the Prime Minister advises the President on the basis of which the appointment is made.

• Neither any collegium, nor any opposition is engaged into the procedure.

• Goswami committee (1990) and law commissions reports also suggested to have some detailed procedure of appointment of Election commission in India

Tenure-

• Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed for a term of six years, or till the age of 65 whichever is earlier.

• The Chief Election Commissioner cannot hold any office of profit after retirement and The Chief Election Commissioner cannot be reappointed to the post.

Removal-

• Although Chief Election commissioner is appointed by President but She/he cannot be removed by him without following the procedure of removal of Chief Election Commissioner

Removal of Chief Election Commissioner-

• Procedure of Removal of Chief Election Commissioner is similar to that of a Supreme Court judge for by Parliament.

Grounds For removal: Proven misbehavior or incapacity

Article 324(5) says that-

(5) Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, the conditions of service and tenure of office of the Election Commissioners and the Regional Commissioners shall be such as the President may by rule determine:

Provided that the Chief Election Commissioner shall not be removed from his office except in like manner and on the like grounds as a Judge of the Supreme

• It means that she/he is removed from her/his office similar to that of judge of a Supreme Court.

Let’s see the procedure of removal of Judge of Supreme Court

• The procedure for removal of judges is elaborated in the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968

Procedure-

• An impeachment motion may originate in either House of Parliament.

To initiate proceedings:

(i) at least 100 members of Lok Sabha may give a signed notice to the Speaker, or

(ii) at least 50 members of Rajya Sabha may give a signed notice to the Chairman.

The Speaker or Chairman may consult individuals and examine relevant material related to the notice and he or she may decide to either admit the motion or refuse to admit it.

If Motion is admitted-

• The Speaker or Chairman (who receives it) will constitute a three-member committee to investigate the complaint.

The Committee-

Committee will comprise:

(i) A Supreme Court judge;

(ii) Chief Justice of a High Court; and

(iii) a distinguished jurist.

• The committee will frame charges based on which the investigation will be conducted. 

• A copy of the charges will be forwarded to the judge who can present a written defence.

• After concluding its investigation, the Committee will submit its report to the Speaker or Chairman, who will then lay the report before the relevant House of Parliament.

• If the report records a finding of misbehavior or incapacity, the motion for removal will be taken up for consideration and debated.

The Motion For Removal-

The motion for removal is required to be adopted by each House of Parliament by:

(i) a majority of the total membership of that House;

(ii) a majority of at least two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting. If the motion is adopted by this majority, the motion will be sent to the other House for adoption.

Once the motion is adopted in both Houses, it is sent to the President, who will issue an order for the removal of the judge

Note-

• Constitution is silent about the procedure for removal of the two Election Commissioners. It only provides that they cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC

Independence of Election commission of India-

• As discussed above Chief Election commissioner cannot be removed from his office without following the procedure mentioned in the constitution.

• Election commissioners cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC.

Powers and Functions of the Election Commission-

Administrative powers and Functions-

• ECI have power to enforce model code of conduct during elections.

• Through Expenditure observers and other methods they try to keep check on expense of political parties and candidates to have fair election.

• ECI can register or deregister any political party.

• ECI have power to define the territorial boundaries of electoral constituencies for different elections(Delimitation).

Quasi-Judicial Powers and functions-

• ECI act as quasi judicial body to decide and settle disputes regarding recognition of political parties.

• It can disqualify any contesting candidates on the ground of unfair practices during the election.

• It act as judicial body while deciding the dispute regarding allotment of election symbol.

Advisory Function and powers of Election commission-

• It advises the President and the Governor on matters relating to disqualification of members of parliament and the state legislature

Note-

• Opinion given by it to president is binding on The President.

• It advice president regarding imposition of president rule in any state

Issues with Election commission of India-

• No transparent procedure of appointment of Election Commissioners.

• There has been many violation of Model code of conduct in India during elections but there have been seen ineffectiveness of The Commission.

• Lack of specialized staff and manpower during the election.

Important Articles that are related to Election and Election Commission of India-

Article 324 -

• Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission.

Article 325-

• No person to be ineligible for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special, electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex.

Article 326-

• Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of States to be on the basis of adult suffrage.

Article 327-

• Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures.

Article 328 -

• Power of Legislature of a State to make provision with respect to elections to such Legislature.

Article 329-

• Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters.