Important that ECI Functions Independently, Not Influenced by Political Processes, Says Justice Nagarathna
The Wire Staff
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New Delhi: Justice B.V. Nagarathna of the Supreme Court, who is in line to become the first woman Chief Justice of India (CJI) next year, has said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) must function independently if constitutional governance was to remain intact, reported The Tribune.
“It is of utmost importance that these institutions function independently and not to be influenced by political processes,” said Justice Nagarathna on Saturday (April 4), while delivering the Rajendra Prasad Memorial Lecture on ‘Constitutionalism Beyond Rights: Why Structure Matters’, at the Chanakya Law University in Patna.
“Our constitutional democracy has amply demonstrated smooth changes in government due to elections being held on a timely basis. Control over that process is, in effect, control over the conditions of political competition itself,” she added.
Justice Nagarathna said that the ECI, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Finance Commission shared a common design logic that they were insulated, specialised and assigned the task of overseeing domains where the ordinary political process might be insufficient to ensure neutrality.
Justice Nagarathna also urged the Union government to see states as “coordinates and not subordinates” and said that the separation of powers was a “constitutional arrangement of co-equals,” reported Tribune.
“Therefore, the need of the hour is to have greater coordination between the Union and state governments. The state governments are not subordinate to the Union Government except as stipulated under the Constitution, and, therefore, must be accorded the treatment that is due to them irrespective of the political parties that may be in power,” said Justice Nagarathna.
“Inter-party differences or distinct political ideologies have to be kept aside in the matter of Centre-state relations as the latter is in the realm of constitutional governance which would not depend on which party may be ruling at the Centre and which other party may be ruling at the state level,” she added.
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