Claim: Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi implied that Chief Justice of India (CJI) used to appoint Election Commissioners (EC) and Chief Election Commissioners (CEC) before Modi government passed a law to formalize the process in 2023.
Our examination found the claim to be MISLEADING.
How We Examined the Claim:
1. From official Election Commission records (Reference 1) and media coverage of the time, we checked who appointed all Election Commissioners (EC and CEC), since the formation of Election Commission in 1950. We found that none of the Election Commissioners were appointed by any CJI.
2. We checked Supreme Court ruling in ‘Anoop Baranwal vs Union of India‘ dated 2nd March 2023. This ruling ordered that a temporary Committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and the CJI will appoint Election Commissioners (EC and CEC). The ruling also clarified that the said Committee was to be a stop-gap measure until a law governing these appointments would be passed in the Parliament. As mandated by the Supreme Court, a law was passed by the Parliament (Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023). This law mandated that a Committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition and a Minister appointed by the Prime Minister would manage all EC and CEC appointments.
Conclusion:
None of the 34 election commissioners in Indian history were ever appointed by a CJI. There was a temporary stop-gap period in 2023 where CJI was on the committee but that got superseded by a law of the parliament before any appointments were due. In fact the new law gave a voice to opposition parties in EC and CEC appointments for the first time in India’s history. Therefore, creating the impression that CJI ever appointed EC or CEC or that executive having a decisive say in the matter is something unusual is grossly deceptive.
Therefore, the claim is Misleading.
References
