Selective decisions

Parliament the best arbiter of EC appointment

The five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case on the process of appointing Election Commissioners has made headlines for acerbic commentary and a suggestion that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) be part of the appointment panel that selects the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). This suggestion is not new; over the past decade, several politicians and former CECs have raised similar calls for a bipartisan collegium, including the law minister, the CJI, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and the leaders of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. This suggests that there has been some level