New Delhi: Several former Chief Election Commissioners have hailed the ruling by a bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi to refer a plea on the current practice of appointment to the Election Commission to a constitution bench. The plea stated that the practice in use currently is in violation of the constitution of India and the former CECs say that this is a step in the right direction.Incidentally, over the last two decades, several CECs have demanded that a collegium be constituted for selection of Election Commission members as a means of lending greater credibility to the institution. But the political leadership has shown no inclination.The petition had contended that the current practice of appointing members to the Election Commission without there being a law for ensuring a fair, just and transparent process of selection through the constitution of an independent and neutral collegium/selection committee to recommend the name was in violation of Article 14 and 324(2) of the constitution of India. It had also stated that this practice had been in use since the adoption of the Constitution.Also read: The Supreme Court Seems to Be Vacillating Between Being Progressive and RegressiveIncidentally, Article 14 provides that “the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India” whereas Article 324(2) stipulates that the ECI shall comprise of the CEC and “such number of other Election Commissioners, if any, as the President may from time to time fix”. This figure has been pegged at two since 1993.Acknowledging that “the issue has not been debated and answered” by the Supreme Court earlier, the bench said it would therefore require it to refer the matter to a constitution bench.‘Present mechanism of selection not in spirit of constitution’Responding to the development, former CEC T.S. Krishnamurthy told The Wire, “While the present mechanism of selection is not violative of the constitution it can be said that probably it is not in the spirit of the constitution”.He said the Election Commission had itself suggested officially that a collegium should be constitution for appointments of its members. “When I was the CEC in 2004, about 22 recommendations were sent to the government and one of the recommendations was that we adopt a collegium to improve the credibility of the institution. We did not want people to carry the impression that it was only the ruling party which was having a say in every matter.”Justifying the demand, Krishnamurthy said the practice exists in many other countries as well and in India too the Central Vigilance Commissioner is appointed in that way. “We had stated that since Election Commission is also a constitutional authority it would be better to have a collegium representing the Supreme Court and the Leader of the Opposition. But neither the UPA government nor the current NDA regime have showed any interest in the these suggestions.”Also read: 194 Politicians, Including 6 Former CMs, Submitted Fake PAN Details to ECAnother suggestion, Krishnamurthy said, which was made was that all the Election Commissioners be treated alike. “Right now, the CEC can recommend the removal of other ECs. We had demanded this be changed and they be treated at par. The ECs are given the status of Supreme Court judges but their removal is still governed by an old procedure which has been in vogue since the constitution was drafted. Initially it was felt that only one Election Commissioner would be there, but during the Narasimha Rao Government, amendments were made to constitute full-time three-member Commission. However, the process of removal was not changed and it would now require a constitutional amendment.”‘Nobody will raise a finger at EC members if they are appointed by collegium’Former CEC S.Y. Quraishi also lauded the Supreme Court’s decision to refer the matter for having a collegium or selection committee to a Constitution Bench saying “I have always spoken and written about it. It is a welcome decision which was long awaited.”As CEC in 2010, Quraishi had also demanded a collegium for EC saying that “instead of the government alone nominating, it should be a collegium”.Giving the reasons, he had said at an event: “When we are attacked as stooges of the party that appointed us, it is annoying. But if we have the stamp of approval from a collegium consisting of the leader of the Opposition, the Chief Justice of India etc, nobody will raise a finger.”Law Commission had also recommended a Committee for selecting ECsIncidentally, the Law Commission of India too had in its report on electoral reforms in March 2015 stated that “it is of paramount importance to ensure that the ECI, entrusted with the task of conducting elections throughout the country, be “fully insulated” 228 from political pressure or executive interference to maintain the purity of elections, inherent in a democratic process.”It had also recommended that the Election Commissioners, including the Chief Election Commissioners, be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after obtaining the recommendations of a Committee consisting of the Prime Minister of India as its Chairperson; and the Leader of the Opposition in the House of the People and the Chief Justice of India as members.Also read: Election Commission Announces Four-Phase Polling Schedule for Five StatesIt had also stated that after the Chief Election Commissioner ceases to hold office, the senior-most Election Commissioner shall be appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner, unless the Committee for reasons to be recorded in writing, finds such Election Commissioner to be unfit. Also, the Law Commission had noted that when there is no recognised Leader of the Opposition, the panel would include the leader of the single largest group in opposition of the government in the House of the People (Lok Sabha).‘Law needed for ensuring fair and transparent selection process’The petition, filed by Anoop Baranwal before the bench of Justice Gogoi and Justice S.K. Kaul and argued on his behalf by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Devesh Kumar Agnihotri, had demanded that the Centre be directed “to make law for ensuring a fair, just and transparent process of selection by constituting a neutral and independent collegium/selection committee to recommend the name for the appointment of member to the Election Commission”The petitioners had noted that the current practice of appointing members to the Election Commission without there being a law for ensuring a fair, just and transparent process of selection through constitution of an independent and neutral collegium/selection committee to recommend the name was in violation of Article 14 and 324(2). It had also stated that this practice had been in vogue since the adoption of the constitution.‘Centre be directed to constitute independent collegium, selection committee’It had also been pleaded that directions be issued to the Centre for constituting “an interim neutral and independent collegium/selection committee to recommend the names for the appointment on the vacant post of members to the Election Commission”.On why there was a need to change this practice, the petition had explained that “under the Constitution of India, the independence and integrity of the Election Commission is of paramount importance for ensuring a free and fair election to strengthen and maintain the life of the democracy”.‘Integrity of Commission being jeopardised’It had also cautioned that in the absence of a proper law, “the independence and the integrity of the Commission is being jeopardised and thus public injury is being caused.”In its order, the Bench after having heard the counsel for the petitioner and the Attorney General of India said it was of the view that “the matter may require a close look and interpretation of the provisions of Article 324 of the constitution of India.”