| Election Commission of India | |
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| Election Commission of India | |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | January 25, 1950 |
| Jurisdiction |  Government of India |
| Headquarters | New Delhi |
| Agency executives | Navin Chawla, Chief Election Commissioner S.Y. Quraishi, Election Commissioner V.S. Sampath, Election Commissioner |
| Website | |
| http://eci.nic.in/ | |
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India. It was established on January 25, 1950[1] under Article 324 of the Constitution of India.
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Structure
The commission presently consists of a Chief Election Commissioner 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 India passed a law providing for the appointment of two Election Commissioner. 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 Tuesday, April 21, 2009, the CEC is Navin Chawla. The two Election Commissioners are S.Y. Quraishi and former Power Secretary V.S. Sampath[2].
The Chief Election Commissioner may be removed from his office in like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.It means the Chief Election Commissioner may be removed from office by Parliament by passing a resolution to that effect,passed by special majority on the ground of proved misbehaviour.Other Election Commissioner may be removed by the President on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
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 India. 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. During the elections, the entire Central (Federal) and State government machinery including para-military 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. The 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 organisations, such as Syndicates of Universities, statutory professional bodies, etc.
The following are the principal functions of the Election Commission of India:
1. Demarcation of Constituencies
2. Preparation of Electoral Rolls
3. Recognition of Political parties and allotment of symbols
4. Scrutiny of nomination papers
5. Conduct of polls
6. Scrutiny of election expenses of candidates
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Chief Election Commissioners
The following have held the post of the Chief Election Commissioner of India [3]
- Sukumar Sen: 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958
- K.V.K. Sundaram: 20 December 1958 to 30 September 1967
- S.P. Sen Verma: 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972
- Nagendra Singh: 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973
- T. Swaminathan: 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977
- S.L. Shakdhar: 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982
- R.K. Trivedi: 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985
- R.V.S. Peri Sastri: 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990
- V.S. Ramadevi: 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: 16 May 2005 to 28 June 2006
- N. Gopalaswami: 29 June 2006 to 20 April 2009
- Navin Chawla: 21 April 2009 to present[4]
Appointment and tenure of commissioners
The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years and 62 years respectively, whichever is earlier. They enjoy the same status and receive salary and perks as available to Judges of the Supreme Court of India. The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from office only through impeachment by Parliament.
External links
- Official site
- Links to Official Web Sites of Chief Electoral Officers of 28 States and 7 UTs
- ECI's Online Voters List Options: 'Voter Name' search Parliamentary, Assembly constituency wise. Also one can get full Electoral Rolls 'Voting Booth' wise.
- Election Commission of India Gets Political Infection, Democracy at Receiving End
References
- ^ "About ECI". Election Commission of India. http://www.eci.gov.in/about-eci/the_setup.asp#introduction.
- ^ "VS Sampath named new Election Commissioner]" (in English). CNN-IBN. April 15, 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/vs-sampath-named-new-election-commissioner/90335-37.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ "Previous Chief Election Commissioners". Election Commission of India. http://www.eci.gov.in/Audio_VideoClips/previous-ces.asp.
- ^ "Navin Chawla takes over as CEC on Tuesday" (in English). CNN-IBN. April 20, 2009. http://ibnlive.in.com/news/navin-chawla-takes-over-as-cec-on-tuesday/90699-37.html. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
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