CJI got how many votes?

Something interesting happened in the last moments of the monsoon session, the Union government introduced a bill that seeks to remove the Chief Justice of India from the panel to select the Chief Election Commissioner and Election commissioner.

Earlier this year in an order the Supreme Court had constituted an apex body that included the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition and CJI to appoint Chief Election Commissioner. Although a lot of people hailed the decision as a landmark one it has many flaws and Yes these issues still apply no matter which party’s government is at the center.

The arrangement recommended by the Supreme Court and the support it derived from certain quarters rest on the fact that there has been a attempt by design to make Lordships epitome of ‘neutrality’ which in a democracy is certainly important.

Now as far the appointments of Judges go, it’s an open secret & even if that is discounted CEC is just as a constitutional post as CJI and if one enjoys power without responsibility how can any other office be left at the mercy of the supposed gatekeepers of the constitution.

Now an elected government how so ever to the dislike of the opposition has been given a mandate by the people and the power from which all the rest derive their authority and naturally has an advantage over the others.

Now the present arrangement proposed by the Central government also has one flaw that instead of the CJI it has proposed one cabinet minister. Now this makes things even more interesting as it leaves the presence of LoP for mere namesake.

The better alternative could have been :- PM, LoP and one eminent personality as recommended by the President to provide the stability and maturity the panel deserves.

How the future events will unfold nobody can say, but one thing is for sure that how many votes CJI will get in this round.