India’s Supreme Court last week plugged a hole in the procedure for appointment of the members of the Election Commission. It is the body charged with the task of conducting free and fair elections.

It conducts elections to the legislatures of the States and the Union Territories, the two houses of Parliament, and the office of the President, the highest constitutional authority.

The Constitution vests the power to appoint the members of the Election Commission in the President. Since the President acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers, essentially the government of the day picks the officials.

In the early days of Independence, the system worked satisfactorily as the freedom-fighters who ran the government cherished democratic values. With the emergence of politicians, whose sole motivation was pursuit of power, commitment to democratic ideals weakened and standards of probity in public life declined. As a result, the Central and state governments’ choice of officials for sensitive posts became controversial. Aggrieved citizens raised such issues before the Supreme Court and, after hearing the views of the governments and other concerned interests, it revised the procedures for appointments to certain key posts. Thus, the head of the Central Bureau of Investigation is now chosen not by the Central government but by a panel of three, comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. The head of the police force in a state is chosen by a panel comprising the Chief Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly and the Chief Justice of the State High Court.

Within two and a half years of Independence, India promulgated the Comstitution. It provided for elections on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

Initially, the Election Commission had only one member, who was designated as Chief Election Commissioner. The President appointed Sukumar Sen, a senior civil servant, as the first CEC on the recommendation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Sen carried a much heavier burden than his counterparts elsewhere in the world. There were as many as 176 million voters in India’s first general election, and about 85 per cent of them were illiterate. Elections to the Lok Saha and State Assemblies were held simultaneously.

Sen made his own contribution to Indian democracy by conducting the mammoth operation fairly and smoothly.

Impressed by India’s handling of early elections, several countries which gained freedom later consulted Sen on election matters.

In 1989 the government enlarged the Election Commission into a three- member body with a CEC and two ECs. This was done taking into account the increase in its workload and the need to avoid concentration of all power in one person.

Over the years the Election Commission, on its own, took several steps to make the election process fairer. Occasionally one political party or another complained about the conduct of elections. The use of electronic voting machines was an issue which was hotly debated at one point. However, change of government at the Centre and in the states through elections is now a well-established Indian tradition.

The new Supreme Court judgment, revising the procedure for appointment of ECs came on petitions questioning the Centre’s monopoly over choice of ECs.

Last November the Modi regime picked Arun Goel, a bureaucrat, for the post of EC. The Constitution Bench, headed by Justice Kurian Joseph, noted that Goel had taken voluntary retirement from his government job and was appointed EC the same day. This was just a day after the Bench commenced hearing of the petitions relating to appointment of ECs.

The Bench ruled that hereafter ECs must be appointed by a collegium comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. Opposition parties welcomed the judgment.

The 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be conducted by the present Election Commission.