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The law governing appointment, service conditions and tenure of the CEC and Election Commissioners, which replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel with a Union Cabinet Minister.
The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 is the law that governs how the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners are appointed, what their conditions of service are, and how long they hold office. It was enacted by Parliament to fill a constitutional gap: Article 324 had always envisaged that appointments would be made subject to a law made by Parliament, but for over seven decades no such law existed and appointments were made by the President on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The Act is best known for the composition of the Selection Committee it created, which excludes the Chief Justice of India.
Type: LawSelection Committee under Section 7 — comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Search Committee under Section 6 — prepares a panel of eligible candidates for the Selection Committee's consideration.
Appointment — the President appoints the CEC and Election Commissioners on the recommendation of the Selection Committee.
Term of office — six years, or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier, continuing the long-standing rule.
Removal — the constitutional protection under Article 324 is retained: the CEC can be removed only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a Supreme Court judge, and an Election Commissioner only on the CEC's recommendation.
The Act replaced the interim arrangement laid down by the Supreme Court in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023).
Frequency: Election Commission composition and appointment appear frequently in UPSC Prelims polity and in Mains questions on institutional independence.
Article 324 states that appointments to the Election Commission are to be made by the President 'subject to the provisions of any law made in that behalf by Parliament'. For decades Parliament made no such law, so appointments rested entirely with the executive. That gap was the basis of the litigation that produced the 2023 judgment and, in response, this Act.
The Election Commission of India is established; Article 324 provides for appointments subject to a future law of Parliament.
In Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, a Constitution Bench directs that appointments be made on the advice of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, until Parliament legislates.
Parliament enacts the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, replacing the CJI on the panel with a Union Cabinet Minister.
The Supreme Court declines to stay the Act while hearing challenges to its validity.
Gyanesh Kumar assumes office as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner, the first appointed under the Act.
The Act sets out a two-stage process, separating the shortlisting of candidates from the choice among them.
Step 1: A Search Committee constituted under Section 6 prepares a panel of eligible candidates.
Step 2: The Selection Committee under Section 7 — the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha — considers that panel.
Step 3: The Selection Committee recommends a name to the President.
Step 4: The President makes the appointment.
Step 5: The appointee holds office for six years or until attaining the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
The debate over this Act is really a debate about what makes an institution independent. The Election Commission conducts elections in which the government of the day is itself a contestant, so who selects the commissioners bears directly on public confidence in the process. Critics argue that a three-member panel containing the Prime Minister and a minister nominated by the Prime Minister gives the executive an inbuilt majority, so the Leader of the Opposition can always be outvoted — which, they say, leaves the position no stronger than before the 2023 judgment. The government's position is that appointment is an executive function, that Article 324 expressly contemplates a parliamentary law, and that judicial involvement in executive appointments is not constitutionally required. Both arguments should appear in a balanced answer.
Article 324
Vests superintendence, direction and control of elections in the Election Commission, and provides for appointments subject to a law made by Parliament.
Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India (2023)
The Supreme Court judgment prescribing an interim selection panel of the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023
The current law on appointment, conditions of service and term of office; Section 6 provides for the Search Committee and Section 7 for the Selection Committee.
Election Commission of India
Constitutional body responsible for superintendence, direction and control of elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President
Selection Committee
Recommends names for appointment as CEC and Election Commissioners
Full title: Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
Selection Committee: Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
Supreme Court's 2023 interim panel had included the Chief Justice of India instead of a Cabinet Minister.
Search Committee under Section 6; Selection Committee under Section 7.
Term: six years or age 65, whichever is earlier.
Gyanesh Kumar, the 26th CEC, took office on 19 February 2025 — the first appointed under this Act.
Constitutional basis: Article 324.
The President appoints the CEC on the recommendation of a Selection Committee comprising the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
It replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel with a Union Cabinet Minister. Critics argue this gives the executive an inbuilt majority on the panel that selects the body which conducts elections the government contests.
In March 2023 a Constitution Bench directed that appointments be made on the advice of a committee of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India, until Parliament enacted a law on the subject.
Six years, or until the age of 65, whichever is earlier.
Gyanesh Kumar, who assumed office on 19 February 2025 as the 26th Chief Election Commissioner of India.