Inside Track: Lessons From Past

The BJP has dismissed the seriousness of The Indian Express investigations, asserting that the 14 instances when two Election Commissioners disagreed with the Chief Election Commissioner over election process implementation are merely "normal parts of institutional deliberation leading to unanimous decisions." This contrasts with the history of past disputes between Election Commissioners, which reveals a different reality.

When the three-member commission system was introduced in 1993 under Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao, the two new ECs, MS Gill and GVG Krishnamurthy, contested that CEC TN Seshan continued to run the commission as a one-man operation, and their objections went unheeded. Seshan even sought Supreme Court affirmation of his authority, but the court ruled that each member of the constitutional body had equal rights.

Majority rule has prevailed ever since, except in rare cases like 2009, when two commissioners overruled then-CEC N Gopalaswami's decision on a notice to Sonia Gandhi for receiving the Order of Leopold. In 2019, Ashok Lavasa also disagreed with then CEC Sunil Arora regarding the PM and home minister's alleged violations of the model code of conduct, insisting on recording his minority decisions.

The question arises whether CEC Gyanesh Kumar held formal three-member meetings with documented minutes on contentious issues. The Tata September Coup highlights how powerful interests may be undermining Noel Tata, who appears to be maneuvering against unseen forces. Key events in September included the RBI rejecting Tata Sons' application to surrender its Core Investment Company status and the Tata Sons Board unexpectedly deciding not to challenge the RBI's rejection.

Additionally, the Maharashtra charities commissioner unexpectedly barred the Sir Ratanji Trust from holding a board meeting while an inquiry into allegations against the Tata Trusts was ongoing.