NEW DELHI, Mar 13:Law Commission has pitched

for a stronger ElectionCommission by giving equal con-stitutional protection to all mem-bers of the poll body and appoint-ing the CEC and the two ECs by ahigh-powered collegium.

In its report on electoralreforms submitted to the LawMinistry, the law panel has alsorecommended creation of a per-manent, independent Secretariatfor the EC.

The law panel said Article324(5) of the Constitutionshould be amended to equate theremoval procedures of the twoElection Commissioners withthat of the Chief ElectionCommissioner. "Thus, equalconstitutional protection shouldbe given to all members of theECI in matters of removabilityfrom office," it said.

The President appoints ChiefElection Commissioner andElection Commissioners afterthe Law Ministry initiates thefile for their appointment. TheChief Election Commissionercan be removed from office onlythrough impeachment byParliament. The government canremove the ECs based on therecommendation of the CEC.

The Law Commission said theappointment of all the ElectionCommissioners, including theCEC, should be made by thePresident in consultation with athree-member collegium or selec-tion committee, consisting of thePrime Minister, the Leader of theOpposition of the Lok Sabha (orthe leader of the largest opposi-tion party in the Lok Sabha) andthe Chief Justice of India.

It said elevation of anElection Commissioner shouldbe on the basis of seniority,

unless the three member col-legium or a committee, for rea-sons to be recorded in writing,finds such Commissioner unfit.

The precedent is to appointthe senior-most EC as the CEC.

The law panel report said anew sub-clause (2A) should beadded to Article 324 of theConstitution to provide for aseparate, independent and per-manent Secretariat for the ECalong the lines of Lok Sabha andRajya Sabha Secretariats underArticle 98 of the Constitution tofurther improve the independ-ence of the poll watchdog.

Election Commission is apermanent Constitutional bodywhich was established in accor-dance with the Constitution onJanuary 25, 1950.

Originally the commission hadonly a Chief Election Commi-ssioner. It currently consists ofChief Election Commissioner andtwo Election Commissioners.

For the first time two addi-tional Commissioners wereappointed on October 16, 1989but they had a very short tenuretill January 1, 1990.

Later, on October 1, 1993 twoadditional Election Commissio-ners were appointed. The conceptof multi-member Commission hasbeen in operation since then, withdecision making power by major-ity vote. (PTI)

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Law panel bats for stronger EC No proposal toraise retirementage of SC Judges

NEW DELHI, Mar 13:There is no proposal to

increase the retirement age ofSupreme Court judges from thepresent 65 to 67 years,Government said today.

“There is no proposal forincrease in retirement age ofSupreme Court judges,” LawMinister D V SadanandaGowda informed the RajyaSabha in a written answer.

He was asked whetherGovernment plans to hike theretirement age from 65 to 67 years.

He said the Centre hasapproved a proposal for con-struction of additional officecomplex for the Supreme Courtfor the purpose of storage ofrecord, office complex, audito-rium, litigation hall and parkingat an estimated cost of Rs884.30 crore.(PTI)

Swine flu claims 40 more lives, toll crosses 1600 mark

NEW DELHI, Mar 13:

Forty more people have succumbed to swine flu as the tollbreached the 1600-mark while over 28,000 people have beenaffected by the H1N1 virus across the country.

According to Union Health Ministry data released today, tillMarch 12, 1,627 people have perished while the number of affect-ed stood at 28,441.

In Gujarat, the highest number of 368 people have died andwhile the number of affected cases was 5,969.

In Rajasthan, eight more people died, raising the toll due to theH1N1 virus to 367 since January 1, state officials said. The statehas recorded 6,124 cases of the disease.

Meanwhile in Coimbatore a 38-year-old man, suffering fromH1N1 influenza and undergoing treatment at the Government hos-pital died, taking the number of swine flu deaths to seven sinceJanuary in the district.

The total number of casualties was 264 in Maharashtra whilethose affected rose to 3,135. The death toll in Madhya Pradeshreached 221 while 1,774 people are affected.

In Delhi, 11 people have died including two pregnant womenwhile the number of cases rose to 3,806.

The deadly virus has killed 51 people in Punjab while the deathtoll in Telangana is 69. Haryana has seen 44 casualties, UttarPradesh (35), West Bengal (18) and Karnataka (65).(PTI)