Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi has said that Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a Constitutional Amendment to give protection to Election Commissioners (ECs) against arbitary sacking, was endorsed by the other two ECs.
“It was the view of the full Commission [Mr. Chawla, Mr. Quraishi and another EC V.S. Sampath]. He discussed with us before sending the letter. But the Commission has not received any communication from the government so far,” said Mr. Quraishi.
Talking to The Hindu here on Monday, Mr. Quraishi, who will take over as the next CEC from Mr. Chawla in July end, said he was in agreement with the view that ECs should also enjoy protection from the Constitution, now available only to the CEC.
As per the present provision, the CEC can be removed only by impeachment in Parliament, while the ECs can be removed by the President with the recommendations of the CEC.
In his letter to Dr. Singh on January 22 this year, Mr. Chawla wrote: “The Commission strongly feels that so long as the provisions of Article 324(5) stand as they are, recurrence of episodes of the nature described above cannot be ruled out in future, against bringing into serious disrepute and shaking the confidence of the millions of citizens in the integrity and neutrality of the Commission.”
Two episodes
Of the two episodes referred to by Mr. Chawla, one relates to the former CEC T.N. Seshan in 1993 challenging the appointment of ECs M.S. Gill and G.V.G. Krishnamurthy in the Supreme Court. Mr. Seshan was of the view that Article 324(5) placed him on a higher pedestal and the ECs could be removed from office on his recommendation.
Another former CEC N. Gopalaswami created a controversy last year by taking a unilateral stand before the Supreme Court that he could suo motu recommend the removal of an EC under Article 324(5). He even wrote to the President seeking Mr. Chawla's removal as EC. However, the President rejected it.
Mr. Sampath, who endorsed Mr. Chawla's view that mutual understanding was necessary among ECs for the harmonious functioning of the Commission, said though Mr. Chawla enjoyed certain privileges as CEC, he never utilised them and strictly followed in letter and spirit that all three ECs were co-equals.
Praise
“Hats off to him; he not only does it by writing a letter [to the PM] but also follows it in the Commission by maintaining equality among three of us,” he said.
