Discuss whether the appointment mechanism under the CEC and Other ECs Act, 2023 strengthens or weakens the independence of the ECI.

Article 324(2) lets Parliament make a law on appointing the Election Commission of India (ECI). In Anoop Baranwal (2023), the Supreme Court set up an interim selection panel of the PM, the Leader of Opposition (LoP) and the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The 2023 Act replaced the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister [1]. The Act fills a legal gap, but on balance it weakens how independent the ECI is seen to be.

How the Act strengthens independence

• Process set down in law: Earlier, appointments were made by the executive alone. Now a statutory Search Committee and Selection Committee make them [1].
• Opposition gets a seat: The LoP now sits on the panel, a formal role the Opposition did not have before [1].
• Upheld by the Supreme Court: In 2026 INSC 1040, the Court held that the Act is within Parliament's legislative competence [3].
• Wider pool of names: The Selection Committee can consider people outside the Search Committee's five-name panel. This stops civil servants alone from controlling the choice [1].

How the Act weakens independence

• 2:1 government majority: The PM and the Cabinet Minister the PM nominates can always outvote the LoP [1].
• Vacancy clause: An appointment stays valid even if a committee seat is empty. Only the LoP seat can actually fall vacant, for example when the Lok Sabha is dissolved. The ruling side could then select alone [1].
• Pay linked to the Cabinet Secretary: Pay used to match a Supreme Court judge's salary, which is fixed by law. The Cabinet Secretary's pay is set by the government, which gives the executive more leverage [1].
• Narrow eligibility: Only Secretary-rank officers can be appointed, although the ECI also does quasi-judicial work [1].
• Supreme Court's concern: The Court said, prima facie, that giving the executive overwhelming control of selection harms the appearance of independence [3].

Way forward

• Add a neutral member, such as the CJI, or require the LoP's agreement.
• Fix commissioners' pay by law, at par with Supreme Court judges.
• Give the other Election Commissioners the same removal protection as the CEC, in line with the Law Commission's 255th Report [2].

The Act gives appointments a legal basis, but it leaves the power to choose with the executive. Measures such as a neutral selection panel, pay fixed by law and equal removal protection would make the ECI both legally sound and trusted by voters, protecting free and fair elections as part of the basic structure.