Union Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj New Delhi: Law Minister H.R. Bhardwaj on Monday asserted that Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami had no independent authority or power to recommend the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla in the absence of a reference from the President on the advice of the Union government.
The Minister said the CEC’s report was being examined and a decision would be taken expeditiously. At the same time, he indicated that going by convention Mr. Chawla should become the next CEC on Mr. Gopalaswami’s retirement on April 20.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Bhardwaj said: “The CEC’s power under Article 324 (5) of the Constitution [Election Commissioner shall not be removed from office except on the recommendation of the CEC] is not a power to punish or get rid of other Commissioners.”
The Minister said: “The CEC has no constitutional authority to embarrass or comment upon his own colleague because they are all equals. He is only the administrative head of the Election Commission and he is not the boss.”
“In a three-member Commission, there is bound to be some controversy but you can’t remove your colleague for that. Commissioners are given protection from arbitrary removal and the CEC cannot use his power to settle personal scores. Public confidence in the institution will be eroded if such things happen,” he added.
The Minister said: “It is a surprising way of saying that ‘I am the authority to recommend the removal of an Election Commissioner.’ His [CEC’s] authority flows from the President and his opinion is sought on matters related to removal of an Election Commissioner. If the President asks for his opinion, he can give, otherwise he can’t give such an opinion. It is unfortunate that a person of such a high rank and at the end of his office has made such a recommendation and, thus, troubled the good name of the Election Commission. It was unfortunate that a controversy had been created at a time when the country was moving towards the general election.” Asked how long the government would take to decide on the CEC’s report, Mr. Bhardwaj said the file reached his office two days ago and “the Law Secretary T. K. Viswanathan is studying it and he will give his opinion to me. I will myself analyse the matter and the government’s stand on the issue is likely to be firmed up very soon.”
Asked about the appointment of the next incumbent, Mr. Bhardwaj said: “As per convention, the policy of having the seniormost in the Election Commission as the next CEC will continue and we will make the recommendation to the President. The process of appointing another Commissioner would also be initiated and completed soon.”
source:http://www.hindu.com
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