Minister in CEC-EC selection panel fails ‘perception test’, says Justice Datta in split verdict
Justice Datta said the Minister “cannot be expected to defy the Prime Minister”; he said the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Minister shared a “collective responsibility” and inclusion of a Minister “fails to provide an independent countenance”
Supreme Court Justice Dipankar Datta has opined that the replacement of the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet Minister in the selection panel for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) amounts to an "effective veto" in favor of the Union government and fails the "perception test". This finding comes from a separate opinion in a split judgment, where Justice Datta emphasized the importance of independence in the appointment and functioning of the Election Commissioners for free and fair elections.
The decision was reached after a split judgment, with Justice Satish Chandra Sharma of the Division Bench referring the case to a Constitution Bench due to the presence of substantial questions of constitutional interpretation.
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