Open Access Research Article
FROM COLLEGIUM TO SELECTION COMMITTEE: RECONSIDERING THE INSTITUTIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Abstract
The
Election Commission of India (ECI) is a constitutional institution entrusted
with administering the electoral process through which political power is
democratically conferred. Its independence is therefore central to the
legitimacy of elections. This article examines the evolution of the appointment
mechanism for the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other Election
Commissioners (ECs), focusing on the transition from executive-led appointments
to the interim collegium prescribed by the Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal v.
Union of India (2023), followed by Parliament’s statutory Selection Committee
under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners
(Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The study
goes beyond judicial doctrine by examining the recommendations of the Tarkunde
Committee, Dinesh Goswami Committee, National Commission to Review the Working
of the Constitution (NCRWC), Second Administrative Reforms Commission (Second
ARC), Law Commission of India’s 255th Report, and earlier legislative
initiatives. It also analyses parliamentary debates surrounding the 2023 Bill
and uses official Election Commission data to demonstrate the institutional
scale of electoral administration. The article finds that the 2023 Act improves
formal statutory structure but places two of the three members of the Selection
Committee within the Union executive’s sphere. The article does not treat
executive participation as inherently unconstitutional; rather, it argues that
institutional independence must be assessed through the cumulative effect of
appointment, search, tenure, removal, finances, staffing, internal collegiality
and transparency. The study proposes an accountable-independence model
combining democratic participation with an effective cross-institutional
safeguard, transparent selection criteria, secure tenure and greater
administrative and financial autonomy.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: UTTAM SOLANKIRegistration ID: 1013380 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13380Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, IndiaPage No.: 1301- 1319
Article Information
FROM COLLEGIUM TO SELECTION COMMITTEE: RECONSIDERING THE INSTITUTIONAL INDEPENDENCE OF THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA
Authors: UTTAM SOLANKI
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 7
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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