Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

India's Supreme Court orders to set up bipartisan panel to select election commissioner

Supreme Court overhauls election commissioner appointment in ‘historic’ judgment

India's Supreme Court orders to set up bipartisan panel to select election commissioner

INDIA's Supreme Court ordered the formation of a bipartisan panel to select the country's election commissioners on Thursday (2), ending a practise in which the government effectively chose them.

The Election Commission of India is an autonomous constitutional authority but opposition parties have regularly accused it of caving into the demands of the ruling party, a charge it has denied.


The new panel will also include the leader of the opposition in the lower house of parliament or the opposition party with the highest number of members in the house.

"This norm will continue to hold good till a law is made by parliament," said Justice K.M. Joseph, delivering the order of a constitution bench that heard several petitions calling for an independent committee to appoint election commissioners.

"The election commission of India is to perform the arduous and unenviable task of remaining aloof from all forms of subjugation by and interference from the executive."

Currently, the president of the country, who generally goes by the advice of the government, appoints the chief election commissioner and two commissioners for a tenure of six years each. Typically they are former bureaucrats.

Prashant Bhushan, a lawyer representing the petitioners, termed the judgment "historic".

"They have said the independence of the election commission is absolutely essential for democracy, and for that independence to be assured, you cannot have a system where the government alone appoints the election commissioners," he told reporters outside the court.

India's former chief election commissioner, S.Y. Quraishi, said that "our long pending demands are being met".

"At last SC has clinched it," he said in a post on Twitter, referring to the Supreme Court. "The demand has been pending for two decades. Good for the perception of neutrality of the Election Commission."

(Reuters)

More For You

ve-day-getty

VE Day 80 street parties, picnics and community get togethers are being encouraged to take place across the country as part of the Great British Food Festival. (Photo: Getty Images)

Public invited to attend VE Day 80 procession and flypast

THE 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day will be marked with a military procession in London on May 5.

The event will include over 1,300 members of the Armed Forces, youth groups, and uniformed services marching from Parliament Square to Buckingham Palace.

Keep ReadingShow less
Knife crimes

Knife-enabled crimes include cases where a blade or sharp instrument was used to injure or threaten, including where the weapon was not actually seen.

Getty Images/iStockphoto

Knife crime in London accounts for a third of national total: ONS

KNIFE-RELATED crime in London made up almost a third of all such offences recorded in England and Wales in 2024, with the Metropolitan Police logging 16,789 incidents, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

This amounts to one offence every 30 minutes in the capital and represents 31 per cent of the 54,587 knife-enabled crimes reported across England and Wales last year. The total number marks a two per cent rise from 53,413 offences in 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer and Modi

Starmer and Modi shake hands during a bilateral meeting in the sidelines of the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Brazil, on November 18, 2024.

Getty Images

Starmer calls Modi over Kashmir attack; expresses condolences

PRIME MINISER Keir Starmer spoke to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning following the deadly attack in Kashmir’s Pahalgam region that killed 26 people on Tuesday.

According to a readout from 10 Downing Street, Starmer said he was horrified by the devastating terrorist attack and expressed deep condolences on behalf of the British people to those affected, their loved ones, and the people of India. The two leaders agreed to stay in touch.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London, England. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Post Office spent £600m to keep Horizon despite plans to replace it: Report

THE POST OFFICE has spent more than £600 million of public funds to continue using the Horizon IT system, according to a news report.

Despite deciding over a decade ago to move away from the software, the original 1999 contract with Fujitsu prevented the Post Office from doing so, as it did not own the core software code, a BBC investigation shows.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

The prayer meet was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami

Pahalgam attack: Prayer meet held at Indian mission in London

Mahesh Liloriya

A PRAYER meet was held at the Gandhi Hall in the High Commission of India in London on Thursday (24) to pay respects to the victims of the Pahalgam terrorist attack.

Chants of ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ rang out at the event which was led by Indian High Commissioner to the UK Vikram Doraiswami.

Keep ReadingShow less