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SUBJECT – Indian Political System
TOPIC – Election Commission of India, Comptroller and Auditor General, Union Public Service Commission, NITI Aayog, Central Vigilance Commission, Central Information Commission, National Human Rights Commission
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Indian Polity PYQs – Click Here
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Q1 On what grounds can members of the Union Public Service Commission be removed? 2M
Answer
Under Article-317-
- The Chairman or any other member of UPSC shall only be removed from his/her office by order of the President of India.
- Conditions for Removal: The Chairman or any other member of UPSC may be removed if he/she:
- is adjudged an insolvent.
- engages during his/her term of office in any paid employment outside the duties of his/her office.
- is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continue in office by reason of infirmity of mind or body.
- In addition to these, the president can also remove the Chairman or any other member from his/her office in respect of whom a reference has been made to the Supreme Court on grounds of misbehaviour, if he
- (a) is concerned or interested in any contract or agreement made by the Government of India or the government of a state, or
- (b) participates in any way in the profit of such contract or agreement or in any benefit therefrom other- wise than as a member and in common with other members of an incorporated company.
Q2 On what grounds can members of the central information commission be removed? 5M
Answer
The President can remove the Chief Information Commissioner or any Information Commissioner from the office if he/she:
- Is adjudged insolvent.
- Has been convicted of an offense which, in the opinion of the President, involves moral turpitude.
- Engages, during his term of office, in any paid employment outside the duties of his office.
- Is, in the opinion of the President, unfit to continue in office due to infirmity of mind or body.
- Has acquired such financial or other interest as is likely to affect prejudicially his official functions.
In addition to the above circumstances, the President can also remove the Chief Information Commissioner or any Information Commissioner on the grounds of proved misbehavior or incapacity.
- However, in such cases, the President has to refer the matter to the Supreme Court for an enquiry.
- If the Supreme Court, after the inquiry, upholds the cause of removal and advises so, then the President can remove him.
Q3 What safeguards ensure the Election Commission’s independence, and what flaws exist in its functioning? 10M
Answer
The Election Commission (Art. 324) is entrusted to conduct free and fair elections in India which are foundational for the democracy to sustain.
Constitutional safeguards to ensure its independence and impartiality:
- The Chief Election Commissioner is provided with the security of tenure. He cannot be removed from his office except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court.
- Service conditions of the Chief Election Commissioner cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
- Any other election commissioner or a regional commissioner cannot be removed from office except on the recommendation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Also, In Mohinder Singh Gill vs Chief Election Commissioner (1978), the Supreme Court affirmed that Article 324 grants plenary powers to the ECI to conduct free and fair elections. The Constituent Assembly granted expansive residual powers to address diverse emerging situations.
Flaws in its functioning:
- The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications (legal, educational, administrative or judicial) for the members of the Election Commission.
- The term of the members of the Election Commission is not specified.
- Election Commissioners are not debarred from further appointment in government offices post retirement.
- Its expenditure are not charged on consolidated fund of India
- Absence of equal tenure security to Election Commissioners like CEC
- Inadequate enforcement powers: No Power to Deresigster political parties, no role in enforcing inner party democracy & regulation of party finances
- Issue of incompletion of tenure: Although the CEC’s tenure is six years, no CEC has completed his tenure since 2004 yet.
- Until recently, there was no law governing the appointment of election commissioners.
However, some of these flaws have been addressed through the Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023.
{EXTRA
- Appointment : CEC and other ECs will be appointed by the President on the recommendation of a Selection Committee comprising Prime Minister (Chairperson), Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha (Member) and a Union Cabinet Minister to be nominated by the Prime Minister (Member).
- Qualification of CEC and ECs: Persons who are holding or have held posts equivalent to the rank of Secretary to the central government will be eligible to be appointed as CEC and ECs.
Re-appointment: Under the Bill, the CEC and other ECs will not be eligible for re-appointment.}
Q4 Make a precis of the following passage in about one-third of its length.
The greatest fact in the story of man on Earth is not his material achievements, the empires he has built and broken, but the growth of his soul from age to age in its search for truth and goodness. Those, who take part in this adventure of the soul, secure an enduring place in the history of human culture.Time has discredited heroes as easily as it has forgotten everyone else; but the saints remain. The greatness of Gandhi is more in his holy living than in his heroic struggles,in his insistence on the creative power of the soul and its life-giving quality at a time when the destructive forces seem to be in the ascendant. Gandhi is known to the world as the one man more than any other, who is mainly responsible for the mighty upheaval of the Indian nation, which has shaken and loosened its chains.
Politicians are not generally reputed to take religion seriously, for the values, to which they are committed, such as the political control of one people by another, the economic exploitation of the poorer and weaker human beings, are so clearly inconsistent with the values of religion that the latter could not be taken too seriously or interpreted too accurately. But for Gandhi, all life is of one piece. “To see the universal and all-pervading Spirit of Truth face to face one must be able to love the meanest of creation as oneself. And a man, who aspires after that cannot afford to keep out of any field of life.”
Answer
Precis : Truth and its Course
Growth of soul in search of truth and goodness is credited as the greatest fact of human life. Time waits for none but the journey of people walking on the path in search of the purpose of the existence is immortal. As an example, Gandhi is known for his spiritual and moral preachings more than the sacrifice he made and pain he suffered during his struggle for independence. It is because he adopted holy living and went against the wind of destructive forces. Politicians are rather not reputed on a religious front because their belief cannot be interpreted through their political actions. It is rightly depicted through a quote by Gandhi that one can travel far distances and achieve great heights provided they aspire to face the spirit of truth in an optimistic light.
