If the players fail to perform, the umpire takes to bat! In a bizarre manner, the Apex Court usurped the power of the government to appoint the Chief Election Commissioner, doubting the bona fides of a duly elected government running the nation. I do not for once claim that what the government has been doing, or not doing, in the appointment of an election commissioner has been correct. At present, the government has a monopoly on the appointment of the Election Commissioner and the Chief Election Commissioner. There is no law prohibiting such procedures for appointments.
But for the last 75 years, every government has avoided this kind of omission by not passing a law that says the Chief Election Commissioner should be chosen by a panel that includes the leader of the opposition. It is no one but the parliament that is at fault, and it is the parliament alone that can enact laws.
The Honourable Supreme Court of India has stepped in and said that the top election officials will now be chosen by a panel made up of the PM, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chief Justice of India. Soon, the opposition hailed the move as the ruling party rued the curtailment of their monopolistic power and criticised the direction.
It is not the SC directive that I am aghast at; it’s their doubting the integrity of the upright officials, most of them with impeccable records, and apprehending a nexus between the ECs and the ruling party that could cause serious damage to our democracy. The Court has arrogated itself as the sole arbiter, despite being only one of the three pillars of democracy, by pushing the executive and the legislature several notches down without realizing that the roof would tilt badly if the pillars were not of equal height.
The court could have given a deadline to the parliament to enact a law in terms of best practices that can be followed and waited for. Political leaders immediately claiming, “Only the Supreme Court can save this country,’ is immature and outright silly. The judges are selected by a collegium, appointed, and do not face any election, whereas the political leaders governing the country are duly elected by the people, and the writ of the people must reign supreme, including when appointing judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
Will the Supreme Court stretch the fear of danger to our democracy a bit further and direct a panel with the PM, LoP, and CJI for the selection of judges? Milords might charge me with contempt for daring to write as such!
Trust is the foundation of any activity, and the Supreme Court must stop thinking that the legislature and the executive are subservient or below par as compared to the judiciary. The parliament must not drag on over the crucial filling of constitutional posts and must include the opposition party without any direction from the courts, which will only further strengthen our democracy.
Sampath Kumar
Intrépide Voix
