A petition in the Supreme court was filed on Tuesday seeking autonomy for the Election Commission of India (ECI). "These are some issues, which have plagued our electoral system over the decades and eroded the trust of citizens," the petition added. ECI cannot function independently until the CEC & ECs are protected similarly, its expenditure is charged as consolidated fund and has independent secretariat & rule making authority. Kumar submitted that various Committees & Commissions including the Goswami Committee, Election Commission and Law Commission (in 255th Report) have suggested in this regard but the Executive has not implemented those recommendations till date. Hence, autonomy to the ECI can only be strengthened if the ECs are also provided with the similar protection as that of the CEC, the petition says.

Source: dna October 24, 2017 09:02 UTC