There is a lot of speculation around the special session of the parliament which is set to be organised from September 18 to 22. On September 13, the government shared the session’s agenda and as many as four bills are listed on the ‘tentative list’. The most interesting of them remains the appointment procedure for the Election Commissioner and the role of Chief Justice in the committee. The others in the list are The Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023, The Press and Registration of Periodicals Bill, 2023 – to be taken up in the Lok Sabha and The Post Office Bill, 2023 in Rajya Sabha.
There was a long debate around ‘One Nation One Election’ but no such bill has been mentioned in the tentative list. The opposition were speculating that the government will rename the country from India to Bharat but no such resolution is lined up, as of now.
Apart from formal parliamentary business, a discussion will be held on the subject ‘Parliamentary Journey of 75 years starting from Samvidhan Sabha – Achievements, Experiences, Memories and Learnings”, as per the government’s notice.
The government has called an all-party meeting on September 17, a day before the special session of Parliament begins. According to officials, the session will begin in the old Parliament building and shift to the new structure the next day. The shift to the new Parliament building will coincide with Ganesh Chaturthi on September 19, considered auspicious to make new beginnings.
As far as the bill on the appointment of the election commissioner is concerned there has been debates around the role of the CJI and the government has made it very clear that CJI cannot be a part of the appointing committee.
As per the Bill titled “Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, 2023”, the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners shall be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee consisting of :
(a) the Prime Minister- Chairperson;
(b) the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People Member;
(c) a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister- Member.
The Bill was tabled by the Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in the Rajya Sabha on August 10. However, the Bill could not be passed in the Monsoon Session which ended on August 11.
In the legislative business published for the Special Session from September 18 to 22, this Bill is mentioned for consideration by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Notably, in March 2023, a five-judge Supreme Court bench called for an independent committee comprising the prime minister, the leader of the opposition (or the leader of the numerically largest opposition party in Lok Sabha) and the Chief Justice of India to advise the President on the appointment of the CEC and the ECs — until Parliament enacts a new law.
The Supreme Court argued that the Election Commission isn’t functioning properly because of the “pernicious effects of the exclusive power being vested with the Executive to make appointment to the Election Commission.”
In accordance with Section 6 of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Bill, a Search Committee led by the cabinet secretary and composed of two other members not below the rank of secretary and with knowledge and experience in election-related matters shall prepare a panel of five individuals for consideration by the Selection Committee for appointment as the CEC and ECs.
The Selection Committee may take into consideration any other individual in addition to those who were included in the panel by the Search Committee, as stated in Section 8(2) of the proposed law.
The CEC and ECs will be appointed by the president based on the recommendation of a Selection Committee, which will be chaired by the prime minister and include the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha and a minister from the Union Cabinet who will be nominated by the prime minister.
