A ‘superior’ CEC renders Election Commissioners ‘non-functional’, Supreme Court had warned

Nearly four decades ago, the Supreme Court had warned that if a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) functions in a way that he considers himself superior and his word final, the Election Commissioners (ECs) would be rendered “non-functional or ornamental”.

The court had held that leaving the “exclusive and uncontrolled” powers of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in the hands of one person would violate democratic rule.

The observations of the apex court in S.S. Dhanoa versus Union of India (1991), highlighting the importance of a collegial and multi-member ECI to democracy, still echo even as allegations of unilateral conduct, authoritarianism and subversion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar highlight friction within the poll panel.