Discuss the division of rule-making authority between the Election Commission of India and the Union Government over electoral rolls. How does this affect the independence of the ECI?

Article 324 gives the Election Commission of India (ECI) "superintendence, direction and control" of the preparation of electoral rolls [1]. But the Union Government frames the rules that govern them. The recent row over the online Form 6 shows that this division both restrains the ECI and guards against overreach.

Division of rule-making authority

• Parliament legislates: the RP Act, 1950 governs the preparation and revision of rolls. Section 21(3) permits a special revision at any time [2].
• Union Government frames rules: Section 28 lets the Centre notify rules after consulting the ECI [2]. The Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 prescribe the enrolment forms, including Form 6 [3].
• ECI directs and executes: it issues instructions, conducts revisions such as the SIR and runs the online portals. Article 324 fills gaps where the law is silent (Mohinder Singh Gill, 1978).
• Proper route for new requirements: Aadhaar details came into enrolment through the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021. Amended rules then introduced Form 6B [4].

Impact on the ECI's independence

Constraints

• Dependence on the executive: even a change to a form needs a Central notification. When the SIR declaration was merged into the online Form 6, it was said the form had been changed without Law Ministry approval [5].
• Appointments: the CEC and ECs Act, 2023 sets up an executive-dominated selection process [6]. This adds to perceptions of dependence.

Safeguards

• Check on overreach: the conditions for adult suffrage under Article 326 [1] cannot be changed by an administrative order alone.
• Collegial accountability: Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded dissent notes. The ECI then withdrew the declaration online where the SIR was complete. Where the SIR is ongoing, it separated the declaration from Form 6, with its own OTP and e-Sign [5].

Overall, the Centre frames the rules and the ECI carries them out. This is a mutual check, but it also makes the ECI depend on the executive. As a way forward:

• any SIR declaration should be notified by amending the 1960 Rules;
• consultation on rule changes should be time-bound;
• dissent notes should be published.

Independence that works within the rules best protects free and fair elections, which are part of the Constitution's basic structure.