The
Election Commission of
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
is an autonomous,
quasi-judiciaryA quasi-judicial body is an individual or organization which has powers resembling those of a court of law or judge and is able to remedy a situation or impose legal penalties on a person or organization.-Powers:...
constitutional bodyThe Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions, and sets out fundamental rights, directive principles, and the duties of citizens...
of
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Its mission is to conduct free and fair
elections in IndiaIndia has a quasi federal government, with elected officials at the federal , state and local levels. On a national level, the head of government, the Prime Minister, is elected directly by the people, through a general election. All members of the federal legislature, the Parliament, are directly...
. It was established on 25 January 1950 under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
Structure
The commission presently consists of a
Chief Election CommissionerThe Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures...
and two Election Commissioners, appointed by the president.
Until October 1989, there was just one Chief Election Commissioner. In 1989, two Election Commissioners were appointed, but were removed again in January 1990. In 1991, however, the
Parliament of IndiaThe Parliament of India is the supreme legislative body in India. Founded in 1919, the Parliament alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all political bodies in India. The Parliament of India comprises the President and the two Houses, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha...
passed a law providing for the appointment of two Election Commissioners. This law was amended and renamed in 1993 as the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of Service) Amendment Act 1993. As of 7 April 2011, the CEC is Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi.
The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by Parliament with two-thirds majority in
Lok SabhaThe Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
and
Rajya SabhaThe Rajya Sabha or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of India. Rajya means "state," and Sabha means "assembly hall" in Sanskrit. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are chosen by the President of India for their expertise in specific fields of art, literature,...
on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity. The Election Commission shall consist of a Chief Election Commissioner and such other Commissioners as the President may, from time to time, fix. Other Election Commissioner can be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner. Salary of chief election commissioner is same as justice of supreme court of India. All three commissioner have same right of taking a decision. Tenure of commissioners is 6 years or up to age of 65, whichever is earlier. The Election Commission of India has completed more than 300 elections.
The Election Commission shall have the power of superintendence, direction and control of all elections to parliament and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of the President and Vice-President.
Powers and duties
The Election Commission enjoys complete autonomy and is insulated from any kind of executive interference. The body also functions as a quasi-judiciary body in matters of electoral disputes and other matters involving the conduct of elections. Its recommendations and opinions are binding on the
President of IndiaThe President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
. However, the decisions of the body are liable for independent judiciary reviews by courts acting on electoral petitions.
The Election Commission is responsible for planning and executing a whole amount of complex operations that go into the conduct of elections, however Election forces and the Police is deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission which takes effective control of personnel, movable and immovable Government Properties it deems necessary for successful completion of the electoral process.
Apart from conducting elections to representative bodies, the Election Commission has been on many occasions, called upon by the Courts to oversee and execute elections to various governing bodies of other autonomous organizations, such as Syndicates of Universities, statutory professional bodies, etc.
The following are the principle functions of the Election Commission of India:
- Demarcation of Constituencies.
- Preparation of Electoral Rolls.
- Recognition of Political parties and allotment of symbols.
- Scrutiny of nomination papers.
- Conduct of polls.
- Scrutiny of election expense of candidates.
Chief Election Commissioners
The following have held the post of the Chief Election Commissioner of India
- Sukumar Sen
Sukumar Sen was an Indian civil servant who was Chief Election Commissioner of India from 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958. He also served as first Chief Election Commissioner in Nepal and Sudan....
: 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958
- K.V.K. Sundaram: 20 December 1958 to 30 September 1967
- S.P. Sen Verma
S.P. Sen Verma, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India serving from October-01 1967 to September-30 1972.-External links:*...
: 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972
- Nagendra Singh
Maharaj Sri Nagendra Singh was president of the International Court of Justice...
: 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973
- T. Swaminathan
T. Swaminathan, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India, serving from February 7, 1973 to June 17, 1977.-External links:*...
: 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977
- S.L. Shakdhar: 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982
- R.K. Trivedi
Ram Krishna Trivedi, is a former Governor of Gujarat who served from February 26, 1986 to May 2, 1990. Trivedi also served as Chief Election Commissioner of India from June 18, 1982 to December 31, 1985.- External links :*...
: 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985
- R.V.S. Peri Sastri
R. V. S. Peri Sastri, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India serving from January 1, 1986 to November 25, 1990. During his tenure the Indian general election, 1989 were held and Rajiv Gandhi became the Prime Minister of India....
: 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990
- V.S. Ramadevi
V. S. Ramadevi M.A, L.L.M, was the Chief Election Commissioner of India from November 26, 1990 to December 11, 1990. She was succeeded by T. N. Seshan....
: 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990
- T.N. Seshan: 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996
- M.S. Gill: 12 December 1996 to 13 June 2001
- J.M. Lyngdoh: 14 June 2001 to 7 February 2004
- T.S. Krishnamurthy: 8 February 2004 to 15 May 2005
- B.B. Tandon
Brij Bihari Tandon, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India serving from May 16 2005 till June 29 2006. He is a 1965 batch Indian Administrative Service officer belonging to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.He joined as Election commissioner in June 2001....
: 16 May 2005 to 28 June 2006
- N. Gopalaswami
N. Gopalaswami, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is a 1966 batch Indian Administrative Services officer belonging to Gujarat cadre.He took over the charge of CEC on June 30, 2006 and has retired in April 2009.-Early Life and Education:...
: 29 June 2006 to 20 April 2009
- Navin Chawla
Naveen , a controversial Indian bureaucrat , is a retired chief election commissioner of India. As Chief Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla oversaw the last 4 phases of Indian general election to Loksabha in April–May 2009...
: 21 April 2009 to 29 July 2010
- S.Y. Quraishi
Shahabuddin Yaqoob Quraishi is the current chief election commissioner of India. He succeeded Navin Chawla as C.E.C on 30 July 2010. He was appointed as an Election Commissioner on July 30, 2010. He also served as a Secretary in the Sports and Youth Affairs Ministry.He is an IAS officer of the...
: 30 July 2010 onwards
External links