Which of the following statements is/are correct? 1. The elections to the Panchayat are conducted by the State Election Commission. 2. The State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Chief Election Commissioner of India. 3. The State Legislatures have the power to make laws on all matters relating to Panchayat elections. Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- (a)2 only
- (b)1 and 2 only
- (c)1, 2 and 3
- (d)1 and 3 only
Correct — D, 1 and 3 only. Statement 1 is Article 243K(1), which vests the superintendence, direction and control of Panchayat elections, and of the preparation of electoral rolls for them, in a State Election Commission. Statement 3 is Article 243K(4), which lets the legislature of a State make provision, subject to the Constitution, with respect to all matters relating to or in connection with elections to the Panchayats. Statement 2 is the one that fails, and it fails on the appointing authority: the same clause 243K(1) says the State Election Commissioner is appointed by the Governor. The Chief Election Commissioner of India has no role at all in the State Election Commission — the two bodies are constitutionally separate.
- (a)2 only — Selects only the false statement. Nothing in Part IX connects the State Election Commissioner to the Election Commission of India.
- (b)1 and 2 only — Adds the false statement 2 to the true statement 1, which is the trap for anyone who assumes a central body must appoint its state counterpart.
- (c)1, 2 and 3 — Takes all three, and so carries the appointment error along with the two correct statements.
Article 243K creates a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor. His conditions of service and tenure are fixed by rules the Governor makes, subject to any State law, and he enjoys a protection borrowed from the higher judiciary: he cannot be removed except in the same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of a High Court, and his conditions of service cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment. Article 243ZA repeats the arrangement for municipal elections.
The question separates two commissions that share a name and nothing else. The Election Commission of India, under Article 324, runs elections to Parliament, the State legislatures and the offices of President and Vice-President; the State Election Commission, under Article 243K, runs local body elections. Once that split is clear, statement 2 collapses. Statement 3 is broader than it looks and is genuinely correct — the State legislature's power extends to all matters connected with Panchayat elections, though it remains subject to the Constitution, which is why a State law cannot take the conduct of the poll away from the State Election Commission.
- Article 243K(1) vests superintendence, direction and control of Panchayat elections in a State Election Commission consisting of a State Election Commissioner appointed by the Governor.
- Article 243K(4) allows the State legislature to make provision with respect to all matters relating to Panchayat elections, subject to the Constitution.
- The State Election Commissioner may be removed only in the manner and on the grounds applicable to a judge of a High Court.
- His conditions of service cannot be varied to his disadvantage after appointment.
- The Election Commission of India under Article 324 has no role in Panchayat or municipal elections; Article 243ZA sets up the same arrangement for municipalities.
The appointing authority is the whole question: Governor for the State Election Commission, President for the Election Commission of India.
- Assuming the Election Commission of India appoints or supervises State Election Commissioners; the Governor appoints, and there is no supervisory link.
- Reading the State legislature's power under 243K(4) as unlimited; it is subject to the Constitution.
- Confusing the electoral rolls for Panchayat elections, prepared under the State Election Commission, with the rolls for Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
As a statements item on Article 243K, or as a direct question on who appoints the State Election Commissioner.
CDS_GK_2020_I_Q1062020The power to legislate on all matters relating to elections to Panchayats lies with
- (a) the Parliament of India
- (b) the State Legislatures
- (c) the State Election Commission
- (d) the Election Commission of India
Answer(b) the State Legislatures
Statement 3 of this question, asked on its own in the previous CDS paper. It confirms the reading that Article 243K(4) puts the law-making power over Panchayat elections with the State legislature.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The State Election Commissioner is appointed by which one of the following?
- (a)The President of India
- (b)The Governor of the State
- (c)The Chief Election Commissioner of India
- (d)The Chief Minister of the State
Answer(b) The Governor of the State — Article 243K(1); the Election Commission of India has no role in the appointment.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The State Election Commissioner can be removed from office in the same manner and on the same grounds as
- (a)a Judge of the Supreme Court
- (b)a Judge of a High Court
- (c)the Comptroller and Auditor General of India
- (d)the Chief Election Commissioner of India
Answer(b) a Judge of a High Court — the protection written into the proviso to Article 243K(2).