Introduction

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) is an autonomous and permanent constitutional body responsible for organizing free and fair elections in the Union and States of India.
• It was established on 25^th January 1950.
• Today, the ECI has become the backbone of true democracy in India.

What is Election Commission of India?

• Articles 324 to 329 contained in Part XV of the Constitution of India, 1950 (COI) contains provision in relation to ECI.
• The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country.
• It 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.

What are Constitutional Provisions in Relation to ECI?

• Article 324: Superintendence, control and direction of national and state-level elections are to be directly handled by the ECI
• Article 325: Inclusion and exclusion of names in electoral rolls are based on Indian Citizenship. No citizen of India above the voting age should be excluded from the rolls or included in a special electoral roll based on any criteria such as race, caste, religion or sex.
• Article 326: Defines universal adult franchise as the basis for elections to all levels of the elected government.
• Article 327: Defines responsibilities of the ECI and Parliament for the conduct of national elections.
• Article 328: Defines the role and responsibilities of the state legislatures with respect to state-level elections.
• Article 329: Prohibits court interference in matters related to elections unless specifically asked to provide their views.

What is the Background of ECI?

• Originally, the commission had only one election commissioner.
• Two additional Commissioners were appointed to the commission for the first time on 16^th October 1989, but they had a very short tenure, ending on 1^st January 1990.
• The Election Commissioner Amendment Act, 1989 was adopted on 1^st January 1990 which turned the commission into a multi-member body.
• Presently, it consists of a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and two election commissioners.

What are Appointment and Conditions of Service?

• The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners.
  • The President fixes the service condition and tenures.
• They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.
  • They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India.
• They can resign at any time by addressing the resignation letter to the President or can also be removed before the expiry of their term on the grounds similar to that of a Supreme Court judge by Parlaiment.

What is Procedure For Removal of CEC & ECs? 

• CEC can be removed from his office by the President on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect by both the houses of Parliament with a two-thirds majority in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity.
• Other Election Commissioners can be removed by the President of India on the recommendation of the CEC.
• The ECI is in charge of handling almost every duty that will ensure a free and fair election in the country.

What are the Powers and Functions of ECI?

• To determine the territorial areas of the electoral constituencies throughout the country.
• To prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls and to register all eligible voters.
• To grant recognition to political parties and allot election symbols to them.
• It ensures a level playing field for the political parties in election fray, through strict observance by them of a Model Code of Conduct evolved with the consensus of political parties.
• It decides the election schedules for the conduct of elections whether general elections or bye-elections.
• It has advisory jurisdiction in the matter of post-election disqualification of sitting members of Parliament and State Legislatures.
• The opinion of the Commission in all such matters is binding on the President or, as the case may be, the Governor to whom such opinion is tendered.
• Further, the cases of persons found guilty of corrupt practices at elections which come before the Supreme Court and High Courts are also referred to the Commission for its opinion on the question as to whether such person shall be disqualified and, if so, for what period.
• It vested with quasi-judicial power to settle disputes relating to splits/ mergers of recognized political parties.
• It has the power to disqualify a candidate who has failed to lodge an account of his election expenses within the time and in the manner prescribed by law.
  

  What is the Current Scenario?

• In the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023), a 5-judge Constitution Bench has settled the dispute revolving around appointment of members of the ECI.

• Bench of Justices KM Joseph, Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and CT Ravikumar gave the following guidelines:

  • The appointment of the CEC and the EC shall be made on the recommendations made by a three-member Committee comprising of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha and in case no Leader of Opposition is available, the Leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha in terms of numerical strength and the Chief Justice of India.

  • It is desirable that the grounds of removal of the EC shall be the same as that of the CEC that is on the like grounds as a Judge of the SC subject to the “recommendation of the CEC” as provided under the second proviso to Article 324(5) of the Constitution of India.

  • The conditions of service of the EC shall not be varied to his disadvantage after appointment.