Challenge To Election Commissioners' Law : Live Updates From Supreme Court

Hansaria: the parties should have been banned according to me. It is a breach of model code of conduct.

SG Mehta: if there are abusive words against the judges should be remove the collegium system? What kind of argument is this?

Hansaria: all that we are looking for is an impartial appointment. We must have faith in the person and today with great amount of respect the slogans which are made in public meetings against the CEC...

Hansaria: committees after committees have been formed which said it should not be left to the Prime Minister and Prime Minister alone. The second committee recommended not chief justice but leader of opposition and speaker. It's broad based. The idea is that the PM should not have the complete say

J Datta: Is it that if CJI is the member there could be some inconveniences or some problems?

Hansaria: I have not seen anywhere that anyone has expressed that they will be inconvenienced. Member of the Lokpal appointment committee. Even director of CBI I think.

Hansaria: under the Act if the Prime Minister suggests appointment of X, there is no way out that anybody else can be appointed.

Hansaria: the Constituent Assembly members expressed that it must be independent, impartial and it must not be under government of the day

Hansaria reads Article 324 of the Constitution about powers of ECI.

Hansaria: government appointed committee for electoral reforms which felt that there should be a independent committee which should have the Chief Justice of India as part of the selection committee for CEC and ECs

Hansaria reads out Dr Ambedkar's speech when he placed article 289 of the draft for consideration which is now Article 324.

Hansaria: He said superintendence over preparation of the electoral roll et cetera has to be done by a body which is outside the control of the executive. How can it be a body outside the executive if the appointment is made by the government?

Hansaria reads out speech by other members.

Hansaria: the idea is that it should not be Prime Minister's man.

Hansaria: no one has said that it should be left to the government that who would be the election commission

Hansaria: the lock cannot be such that it is in the hands of the Government of the day. In this case leader of the opposition gave a slip of 200 candidates in the morning and he is given a list of 6 candidates and the selection is made on that on the same day

Hansaria: there is no meaningful consultation with leader of opposition.

J Datta: that is a separate part your challenge here is to the law

Hansaria: I will show

J Datta: there is no doubt that election has to be taken out from the hands of the Government of the day but is there anything in the constituent assembly discussion that selection of the selectors should also be taken out of the government's hand?

J Datta: in one place you have said that it should be left to the law made by the government. Union law.

Hansaria: the entire election has to be taken out from the government hand. It is the law that is left to the union whether there will be periodical election whether there will be direct or indirect election only that part.

Hansaria: it was said that nothing can be more clear that the election should be conducted by an independent body if the elections have to be free in the real sense of the word they should be taken out of the hands of the Government of the day

Hansaria: Raja Gopalachari agreed with Dr. Ambedkar. He said that there should be due safeguards there should be adult suffrage and there should be free and fair election and secrecy of voting.

Hansaria: fundamental rights sub committee unanimously concluded that election shall be managed by an independent Commission set up under the union law

Hansaria: minority sub committee meeting said that the ECI should be independent quasi judicial body. In an Advisory Committee meeting Dr Ambedkar said that there is a great deal of importance to this clause of adult suffrage

Matter resumes.

Hansaria continues his arguments.

Hansaria: I want to invite your attention to a few meetings of constituent assembly committees and some debates.