oppn parties The Election Commission Must Not Only Be Neutral But It Must Also Be Seen to Be Neutral

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  • Supreme Court questions the continuing relevance of two-child norms. The Court observed that falling fertility rates have weakened the population-control rationale behind laws disqualifying people with more than two children from contesting local body elections. It referred the issue to a larger Bench for consideration
  • Supreme Court declines to shift Tirupati laddu case outside Andhra Pradesh. The Court rejected a plea seeking transfer of the trial, despite arguments that political statements by Andhra Pradesh's Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister could affect the fairness of proceedings
  • Supreme Court transfers Azam Khan's fresh ED bail plea to Allahabad High Court. The apex court declined to consider the Samajwadi Party leader's bail request in a fresh Enforcement Directorate case and directed that it be listed before a division Bench of the High Court on November 16
  • Two killed in Delhi building collapse; contractor booked. Two bodies were recovered after a building collapsed in Chawri Bazaar. Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said the contractor had been booked and the concerned junior and assistant engineers suspended
  • Uttar Pradesh voter rolls show a 2.4-crore discrepancy. A difference of approximately 2.4 crore names has been reported between the state's panchayat and rural Assembly voter lists. The Election Commission has ordered the two sets of rolls to be matched
  • Gujarat announces 3% dearness allowance hike. The state government announced a three-percentage-point increase in dearness allowance for government employees and pensioners ahead of Diwali
  • Sensex and Nifty post their strongest single-day gains in months. The Sensex surged 2,008.61 points, or 2.60%, to close at 79,310.01, while the Nifty 50 climbed 576 points, or 2.40%, to 24,536.60. Financial and automobile stocks led the rally, supported by falling crude prices and renewed foreign investor buying
  • Maaya Rajeshwaran reaches WTA-level quarter-final. The 17-year-old Indian defeated Poland's Weronika Falkowska 6-4, 6-3, becoming the first Indian woman since Sania Mirza in 2012 to reach a quarter-final at a WTA Tour-level singles event
  • Tanvi Patri reaches Youth Olympics badminton final. The 15-year-old defeated Japan's Yuzuno Watanabe in the semi-final, assuring India of a medal and becoming the first Indian badminton player to reach the girls' singles final at the Youth Olympics
  • India beat Pakistan 3-2 in SAFF Championship. India defeated Pakistan in a closely contested match, having led 3-0 before conceding two late goals. The victory was reported as a significant result for India's second-string side
  • India beat Japan 4-1 to win a record sixth Asian Champions Trophy. India recovered from an early deficit to defeat Japan in the final at Mohali, extending its record as the tournament's most successful men's team
  • The Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission on a petition challenging Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which grants the CEC and Election Commissioners protection from legal proceedings for acts performed in their official duties. The petition argues that such blanket immunity could leave citizens without an effective remedy for alleged wrongdoing by the Commission
  • The Supreme Court told voters whose names were deleted from Delhi's draft electoral rolls not to be apprehensive about seeking re-enrolment through Form 6, after the Election Commission assured it that such applicants would not be prosecuted merely because their names had appeared in earlier rolls
  • Congress leader Rahul Gandhi opened the party's campaign for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections with an Insaaf rally in Sangrur, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's home district, accusing the AAP government of failing to control drugs, gangster violence and corruption. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge outlined six commitments, including a drug-free Punjab, protection of farmers, employment for young people and action against corruption
  • Rahul Gandhi accused the AAP government of running Punjab through a remote control from Delhi and questioned Bhagwant Mann's ability to tackle drug abuse, making personal allegations about the Chief Minister's conduct during their time together in Parliament
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The Election Commission Must Not Only Be Neutral But It Must Also Be Seen to Be Neutral

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2026-05-15 07:09:54

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The Supreme Court is absolutely right in saying that the current set-up to select the CEC and ECs is biased as it consists of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and a cabinet minister. The court said that no minister would oppose the Prime Minister, giving the government a 2-1 edge to put its chosen men in the seat.

Calling the process a mere "show of independence" rather than genuine independence in appointment, the court has rightly pushed for a neutral member on the panel. It also pointed out that the selection panel for the CBI chief included the CJI in addition to the Prime Minister and the LoP - why couldn't the same apply in the case of the CEC and ECs?

This is a recurring problem which needs a permanent solution. As the court rightly said, the Election Commission must not only act neutral but also appear neutral. The government had passed the CEC and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Terms of Office) Act precisely to circumvent the Supreme Court's earlier direction that these appointments be made by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the LoP. The Act was passed to go around that order.

The Election Commission is a constitutional body. Its independence is paramount, as it conducts elections that can change the fate of the nation. If the executive is allowed to fill it with its chosen appointees who will then do its bidding, the entire process is vitiated. Even if the EC performs its duties honestly, the tag of government-sponsored officers will always stick, making their conduct suspect.

Ultimately, this is about the credibility of the electoral process itself. An Election Commission perceived as the government's instrument does not merely damage its own reputation - it damages faith in every election it conducts. India's democracy has survived because its institutions, however imperfect, were broadly trusted. That trust, once broken, is not easily rebuilt. The government would do well to remember that the EC's independence protects not just the opposition, but the ruling party too - on the day it is no longer the ruling party.

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