The Supreme Court said the country needs Election Commissioners who will not shirk from even taking on the Prime Minister if required and not just “weak-kneed” yes-men.
“Suppose the Election Commissioner is asked to take on none less than the Prime Minister… we are just giving an example…
And the Election Commissioner is so weak-kneed that he does not get around to doing it. Will it not be a case of a complete breakdown of the system?” Justice KM Joseph, heading a Constitution bench, asked the government.
The court said an Election Commissioner should be a person who can take a stand even risking his life, and not a docile “yes man” whom the government knows will do its bidding.
“You appoint a ‘yes man’… Any government for that matter… Somebody carefully picks him… He is like-minded. You share an affinity of thought and philosophy.
“Each political party in power will want to perpetuate that power… Nobody would be willing to make the changes required in the system… That is when the court steps in,” the judge said.
