{"id":45017,"date":"2025-02-19T03:36:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T22:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=45017"},"modified":"2025-05-06T16:33:42","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T11:03:42","slug":"appointment-of-gyanesh-kumar-as-chief-election-commissioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/appointment-of-gyanesh-kumar-as-chief-election-commissioner\/","title":{"rendered":"Appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as Chief Election Commissioner, Key Changes &#038; Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in Today\u2019s Article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Appointment of CEC Latest News<\/li>\n<li>Evolution of the Appointment Process of the CEC<\/li>\n<li>LoP\u2019s Dissent and Supreme Court Challenge<\/li>\n<li>Reasons Behind Changes in Appointment Process<\/li>\n<li>Implications and Unresolved Issues<\/li>\n<li>Conclusion<\/li>\n<li>Appointment of CEC FAQs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Appointment of CEC Latest News<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Former IAS officer <strong>Gyanesh Kumar<\/strong> has been appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, <strong>succeeding Rajiv Kumar<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The appointment was made by a <strong>Selection Committee<\/strong> comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>The process has sparked controversy due to <strong>opposition objections and pending Supreme Court cases.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Evolution of the Appointment Process of the CEC<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Previous system of appointment:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The Election Commission of India (ECI) comprises <strong>a CEC and two Election Commissioners (ECs).<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Earlier<\/strong>, there was no law passed by Parliament for the appointment of the CEC and ECs. The President appointed the CEC on the advice of the Prime Minister.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Traditionally<\/strong>, the senior-most Election Commissioner was elevated to CEC.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Seniority <\/strong>was determined based on the order of appointment notification.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>The new appointment process:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The <strong>Chief Election Commissioner And Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023<\/strong> governs appointments now.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The process involves two stages:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Search Committee <\/strong>(headed by the Law Minister) shortlists five names.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The Selection Committee<\/strong> (PM, Leader of the Opposition [LoP], and a Union Minister) chooses the final candidate.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The President <\/strong>officially appoints the CEC based on this recommendation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Eligibility and tenure under the new law:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The new law sets <strong>specific eligibility criteria:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Candidates must have held the rank of Secretary to the Government of India.<\/li>\n<li>Must have integrity and experience in election management.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Terms of service:<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>CEC and ECs are <strong>not eligible for reappointment<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>The total tenure cannot exceed <strong>six years<\/strong> (including service as EC and CEC).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>LoP\u2019s Dissent and Supreme Court Challenge<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Rahul Gandhi submitted a dissent note <strong>requesting a deferral of the appointment until the Supreme Court rules<\/strong> on petitions challenging the new process.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The key challenge<\/strong> is the removal of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the Selection Committee.<\/li>\n<li>The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has petitioned the Supreme Court against this change.<\/li>\n<li>The Supreme Court is set to hear the case on February 19, 2025, a day after Rajiv Kumar\u2019s retirement.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Reasons Behind Changes in Appointment Process<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court <\/strong>had ruled in March 2023 that CEC and ECs should be selected by a committee comprising:\n<ul>\n<li>The Prime Minister<\/li>\n<li>The Leader of the Opposition<\/li>\n<li>The Chief Justice of India<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Before implementing this, the government passed the <strong>new Act<\/strong>, <strong>replacing the CJI with a Union Cabinet Minister<\/strong> (to be nominated by the PM), effectively <strong>giving the Executive more control<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Implications and Unresolved Issues<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pending SC case: <\/strong>The Court may rule on whether Parliament can override a Constitution Bench judgment through legislation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Political debate:<\/strong> The opposition argues the government now has disproportionate control over the Election Commission.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact on future elections: <\/strong>The legitimacy of the new selection process may influence public trust in the Election Commission\u2019s independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Conclusion<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The appointment of Gyanesh Kumar as CEC marks the <strong>first implementation of the 2023 Act<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>However, with a Supreme Court verdict pending, the <strong>debate over the independence and transparency<\/strong> of the Election Commission <strong>remains unresolved<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Appointment of CEC FAQs<\/h2>\n<p><strong>Q1.<\/strong> What are the key changes introduced by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Act establishes a Selection Committee comprising the PM, the LoP, and a Union Minister, replacing the earlier practice where the President appointed the CEC based on the PM\u2019s advice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q2.<\/strong> Why has the new appointment process for the CEC been challenged in the Supreme Court?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> It has been challenged on the grounds that it weakens the independence of the Election Commission and gives excessive control to the Executive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q3.<\/strong> What were the Supreme Court\u2019s recommendations regarding the appointment of Election Commissioners in its 2023 judgment?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The Supreme Court recommended a Selection Committee comprising the PM, LoP, and CJI to ensure neutrality, until Parliament enacted a law on the subject.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q4. <\/strong>What are the eligibility criteria for the appointment of the CEC under the 2023 Act?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans.<\/strong> The candidate must have held a post equivalent to the rank of Secretary to the Government of India, possess integrity, and have experience in election management.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Q5. <\/strong>How does the new appointment process impact the independence of the Election Commission of India?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ans. <\/strong>By replacing the CJI with a Union Minister nominated by the PM, the new process potentially gives the ruling government more influence over the Election Commission, raising concerns about its impartiality.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-politics\/new-cec-selection-today-process-9840781\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Former IAS officer Gyanesh Kumar has been appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) of India, succeeding Rajiv Kumar<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":45018,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-45017","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45017"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45017\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}