New Delhi: As per the existing practice, the central government frames the rules for the elections, and the Election Commission (EC) has on Thursday requested the Supreme Court to validate the same powers to it under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and 1951 instead of it.

The poll panel has favoured an independent secretariat and financial powers on the lines of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha while seeking the impeachment procedure for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) be extended to two other Election Commissioners (ECs) as well.

The existing procedure is such that the central government frames the rules for the election under the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Representation of the People Act, 1951 along with the consultation with the Election Commission.

The Election Commission has sought for reversal of roles and said that the task of framing the election rules under the statutes be entrusted to it so that it can do it along with the consultation of the Central government.

The Election Commission has provided full details of its efforts, which it made since 1998 to secure the rule-making power, financial powers, an independent secretariat with complete control over its staff and extending the impeachment process for the removal of two Election Commissioners.

The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only by following the procedure of impeachment, but the two Election Commissioners can be removed by the government on the recommendation of the CEC.

The poll panel has said all of this while responding to a PIL by a lawyer Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay seeking to put in place a mechanism for appointment of the Election Commissioners and extending the procedure of impeachment for removal of the CEC to the other two Election Commissioners.

Mr Upadhyay is a member of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the spokesperson of its Delhi state unit.

Besides asking to put in place a mechanism for the selection of ECs and impeachment procedure for removal of Election Commissioners, Mr Upadhyay has sought direction to the centre to be able to provide an independent secretariat to the poll panel and declare its expenditure as charged on the consolidated fund of India on the lines of the Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha secretariat.

Along with that, he has also sought direction to give the Election Commission the rule-making authority to make election-related rules and code of conduct on the lines of the authority vested in the Supreme Court to frame its own rules.

In the last hearing of the matter dated February 19, 2018, the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice A.M. Khanwilkar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud had sought the Central government’s response on the plea by Upadhyay.

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