The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 has been criticised for undermining the independence of the Election Commission of India. Critically examine.

Q. The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 has been criticised for undermining the independence of the Election Commission of India. Critically examine. (15 marks, 250-350 words)

Article 324(2) vests appointment of the CEC and ECs in the President, "subject to any law made by Parliament" — a power left unused for over seven decades until the 2023 Act, passed after the Constitution Bench verdict in Anoop Baranwal [1][3]. The Act ends a legislative vacuum, but its panel design revives the very executive dominance the Court sought to check.

Grounds for the criticism - Executive-dominated panel: the Selection Committee is the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the PM, and the Leader of Opposition — an effective 2:1 ruling-party majority, replacing the CJI from the Court-mandated panel [2]. - Legislative displacement of a judicial safeguard: petitioners argue ordinary legislation cannot dilute a Constitution Bench arrangement, handing the political executive near-exclusive control over an institution whose neutrality underpins free and fair elections [1]. - Asymmetric tenure security: the CEC is removable only like a Supreme Court judge (Article 324(5)), but ECs may go on the CEC's recommendation — a weaker shield for the majority of the Commission [2]. - Perception deficit: the ECI's authority rests on public confidence, which a self-selecting executive panel erodes.

The counter-view - The Court's panel was expressly interim — operative only till Parliament legislated under Article 324(2); the Supreme Court itself reiterated this while hearing challenges to the Act [4][1]. - It is India's first statutory framework for these appointments; earlier, selection was purely executive with no law at all, and the Act adds a Search Committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary, eligibility norms and Cabinet Secretary-level service conditions [2][3]. - Judicial participation in executive appointments raises separation of powers concerns post-NJAC, and the LoP is retained, preserving a statutory Opposition voice [2].

The Act thus cures a constitutional vacuum without curing the conflict of interest at its heart — independence flows from composition, not merely from codification. Restoring a neutral third member, extending judge-equivalent removal protection to ECs, and publishing shortlists would let the statute deliver on Article 324's promise of an impartial umpire of democracy.

(~330 words)

Sources: 1. PRS Legislative Brief — The CEC and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023 — Supreme Court's interim panel filling the Article 324(2) vacuum; independence concerns with the new panel 2. PRS Bill Summary — CEC and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023 — Selection Committee composition, Search Committee, removal of CEC vs ECs, service conditions, retention of LoP 3. PRS Bill Track — CEC and Other Election Commissioners Bill, 2023 — introduced in Rajya Sabha (10 August 2023), passed December 2023; Ministry of Law and Justice 4. "CJI's role in CEC, EC appointments was temporary, pending new law: SC" — The Hindu, 7 May 2026 (thehindu.com) — Court's observation that the CJI's inclusion was a stop-gap pending legislation