1. The court docket identified yesterday that the “situation on the ground is alarming” and that it needs a CEC like late T N Seshan, identified for bringing key electoral reforms because the ballot panel chief from 1990 to 1996.

2. The five-judge Constitution bench headed by Justice Okay M Joseph was listening to a petition searching for reforms within the system of appointing election commissioners. 

3. The bench, additionally comprising Justices Ajay Rastogi, Aniruddha Bose, Hrishikesh Roy and C T Ravikumar, stated its endeavour is to place a system in place in order that the “best man” is chosen because the CEC, and added that the federal government pays solely “lip service” to the independence of Election Commissioners. 

4. “There have been numerous CECs and T N Seshan happens once in a while. We do not want anyone to bulldoze him. Enormous power has been vested on the fragile shoulder of three men (CEC and two election commissioners). We have to find the best man for the post of CEC,” the court docket stated.

5. “What is important is that we put a fairly good procedure so that apart from competence, someone of strong character is appointed as the CEC,” the court docket instructed Attorney General R Venkataramani, who appeared for the centre.  

6. The authorities’s counsel stated that the federal government will not be going to oppose the appointment of one of the best man, however the query is how can or not it’s achieved. “There is no vacuum in the Constitution. Election commissioners are presently appointed by the president on the aid and advice of the council of ministers,” he stated.

7. The bench stated that since 1990, a number of voices, together with BJP veteran LK Advani, have referred to as for a collegium-like system for appointments to constitutional our bodies, together with the Election Commission.

8. “Democracy is a basic structure of the Constitution. There is no debate to that. We also cannot tell Parliament to do something and we will not do that. We just want to do something to the issue that has been raised since 1990,” the court docket stated. “The situation on the ground is alarming. We know that there will be opposition from the ruling party to not allow us to go past the present system,” it stated. 

9. The court docket identified that since 2004, no CEC has accomplished a six-year tenure. During the 10-year rule of the UPA, there have been six CECs and within the eight years of the NDA, there have been eight. “The government is giving such a truncated tenure to the ECs and CECs that they are doing its bidding,” it stated. 

10. This comes after the centre strongly opposed a batch of pleas searching for a collegium-like system for the collection of CECs and election commissioners, contending that any such try will quantity to amending the Constitution.

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