Patna, 4 April. Supreme Court judge Justice B.V. Nagarathna has said that institutions like the Election Commission should work independently and should not be affected by political reactions. Justice Nagarathna made this important comment while delivering the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture on ‘Constitutionalism beyond Rights: Why Structure Matters’ at Chanakya National Law University, Patna.
‘Elections are a mechanism through which political power is formed’
Commenting on the role of the Election Commission in India’s democracy, Justice Nagarathna said, ‘Elections are not mere periodic events. They are a mechanism through which political power is constituted. Our constitutional democracy has well proven that due to timely elections, changes in government take place smoothly. Controlling this process means, in effect, controlling the conditions of political competition itself.’
According to the report of Bar and Bench, the Supreme Court judge said that the design of the Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Finance Commission is similar. These institutions are specialized, free from outside influence, and tasked with overseeing areas where normal political processes may not be sufficient to ensure impartiality. It is extremely important that these institutions function independently and not be influenced by political processes.
Fairness of the process cannot be ensured if the Election Commission depends on those contesting the elections.
Justice Nagarathna said, ‘In the case of TN Seshan vs Union of India, the Supreme Court recognized the Election Commission as an extremely important constitutional institution, which is entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring fairness of elections. Once again, the concern was structural. “If those who conduct elections are dependent on those who contest elections, the fairness of the process cannot be ensured.”
‘We learn lessons from history…‘
He also said that the lesson from history is that the constitutional structure collapses when its structure is weakened, and violation of rights only follows. This breakdown of structure occurs when institutions stop monitoring each other. At such a time, elections can continue to be held, courts can continue to function, laws can be made by Parliament and yet, there are effectively no checks on power, because structural discipline no longer exists.’
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