Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed Chief Election Commissioner,
The Law Ministry notified the appointment and Haryana Chief Secretary Vivek Joshi has been appointed an Election Commissioner.
Mr. Gyanesh Kumar, a 1988-batch former Indian Administrative Service officer belonging to the Kerala cadre, retired as Union Cooperation Secretary on January 31, 2024. On March 14, 2024, he was appointed Election Commissioner.
While the Prime Minister heads the selection panel, Home Minister Amit Shah and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi are its members.
“At the outset, we cannot ignore that this committee is in clear and direct violation of the Supreme Court’s judgment of March 2, 2023 where a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India declared that the CEC and the ECs should be appointed by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the LoP [Leader of the Opposition] and the CJI [Chief Justice of India],” – Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.
This is the first time that a CEC is selected under provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. Before this, Mr. Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had been selected as Election Commissioners under the new law. Earlier, the CEC and Election Commissioners were appointed by the President after recommendations of the government.
The new law came into effect after the Supreme Court, in its ruling in March 2023, mandated that a selection panel be formed with the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
The court had said the order would hold good until a law was made by Parliament. “When the law was passed, the Centre replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Union Minister on the panel, giving the government a greater role in the appointment process.” Mr. Kumar was the senior-most Election Commissioner after CEC Rajiv Kumar.
Key Facts About the 2023 Act
The 2023 Act replaces the earlier Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. It defines how the CEC and Election Commissioners (ECs) are appointed, their tenure, service conditions, and the functioning of the Election Commission.
Judicial Background
- Several petitions had challenged the Centre’s exclusive power in appointing the CEC and ECs, prompting the SC to intervene.
- In the Anoop Baranwal Case, 2023, the SC ruled that until Parliament enacts a law, a panel comprising the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the Chief Justice of India (CJI) should select the CEC and ECs.
- Before this ruling, the President appointed the CEC and ECs based on the advice of the Union Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister.
Key Provisions
| Provision | Details |
| Selection Committee | The CEC and ECs will be appointed by a Selection Committee consisting of: Prime Minister (Chairperson), Leader of Opposition (LoP), and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM. |
| Search Committee | Led by the Law Minister and two senior secretaries, it shortlists five candidates for selection. However, the Selection Committee can consider names beyond these five. |
| Eligibility Criteria of CEC | Candidates must be former or current Secretaries to the Government, with integrity and experience in election management. |
| Salary & Tenure of CEC | CEC and ECs receive the same salary as Supreme Court judges and serve for six years or until the age of 65, whichever comes first. |
| Reappointment of CEC | CEC and ECs cannot be re-appointed. If an EC becomes CEC, their total tenure cannot exceed six years. |
| Removal & Resignation | The CEC can be removed like a Supreme Court judge, while an EC can be removed on the CEC’s recommendation. Both can resign to the President. |
Constitutional Provisions
Election Commission –
Election Commission is not concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in the states.
For this , the constitution of India provides for a separate State Election Commission.
Article – 324 of the constitution has made the following provisions with regard the composition of election commission:
- The Election Commission shall consist of the chief election commission and such number of other election commissioners, if any, as the President may from time-to-time fix.
- The appointment of chief election commissioner and other election commissioners shall be made by the President.
- When any other election commissioner is so nappointed, the chief election commissioner Shall act as the chairman of the election commission.
- The president may also appoint after consultation with election commission such regional commissioners as he may consider necessary to assist the election commission.
- The conditions of the service and tenure of office of the election commissioners and regional commissioners shall be determined by the President.
The Election commission has been functioning as a multimember body consisting of 1 chief election commissioner and 2 election commissioners
The chief election commissioner and the two other election commissioners
Have equal powers and receive equal salary, allowances and other perquisites , which are similar to those of judges of the Supreme Court. And the matter is decided by the Commission by majority.
Conclusion:
The appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner marks a significant shift in India’s electoral process, as it is the first selection made under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. While the government asserts that the new law ensures a structured selection process, opposition leaders and legal experts argue that it undermines the independence of the Election Commission by excluding the Chief Justice of India from the panel. With the Supreme Court already hearing petitions on the matter, the final word on the constitutional validity of the 2023 Act is yet to be determined.