Former Law Min Moily, ex CEC Quraishi support SC observation
SC questions the absence of a law to appoint CEC, ECs
New Delhi: Former Union law minister M Veerappa Moily and ex-chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi on Wednesday supported a consultative mechanism to appoint the CEC and election commissioners, while another former head of the poll panel pushed for a body to appoint judges in the Supreme Court and the high courts.
On Tuesday, a constitution bench of the Supreme Court had questioned the absence of a law to appoint the CEC and ECs.
The top court had termed the exploitation of the "silence of the Constitution" and the absence of a law governing the appointments of ECs and CECs a "disturbing trend".
The five-judge bench, headed by Justice K M Joseph, said its endeavour is to put a system in place so that the "best man" is selected as the CEC.
It told Attorney General R Venkataramani, who appeared in the matter on behalf of the Centre, "What is important is that we put a fairly good procedure so that apart from competence, someone of strong character is appointed as the CEC."
Moily said he fully supported it.
"It has to be done. If you want both, the Judiciary and the Election Commission, to be independent, then it should be for six years (the tenure of the CEC) and it should be done (the appointment of CEC and the ECs) by a collegium which was recommended by me in the second Administrative Commission (report)," Moily told.
