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10. The governor can appoint a commission to examine and	report on any matter relating to the administration of the	autonomous districts or regions. He may dissolve a district
or regional council on the recommendation of the	commission.	Table 41.1 Tribal Areas at a Glance (2019)
States Tribal Areas	1. Assam 1. The North Cachar Hills District.	2. The Karbi Anglong District.
2. Meghalaya 1. Khasi Hills District.	2. Jaintia Hills District.	3. The Garo Hills District.
3. Tripura Tripura Tribal Areas District.	4. Mizoram 1. The Chakma District.	2. The Mara District.
3. The Lai District.	Table 41.2 Articles Related to Scheduled and Tribal Areas at a	Glance
Article No. Subject-matter	244. Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal	Areas
244A. Formation of an autonomous state comprising	certain tribal areas in Assam and creation of local	legislature or Council of Ministers or both therefore
339. Control of the Union over the administration of	Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled	Tribes
Table 41.3 Parliamentary Laws Related to the Fifth and Sixth	Schedules of the Constitution	Sl. Acts Provisions
No.	1. Lushai Hills District Renamed the Lushai Hills District	(Change of Name) as the Mizo District. The Lushai
Act, 1954 Hills District was one of the six	autonomous districts in the tribal	areas of Assam specified in the
Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.	2. Government of Amended the Sixth Schedule of the	Union Territories constitution to include certain
(Amendment) Act, autonomous districts and	1971 autonomous regions of the Union	Territory of Mizoram.
3. Repealing and Repealed certain enactments and	Amending Act, 1974 amended certain other enactments.	It also substituted the words “cattle
pounds” for “cattle ponds” in the	Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.	4. Fifth Schedule to the Empowered the President of India:
Constitution (i) to increase the area of any	(Amendment) Act, Scheduled Area in a State after	1976 consultation with the Governor of
that state; and (ii) to rescind any	order made for the designation of	an area in any state to be a
Scheduled Area, or in consultation	with the Governor of the State	concerned, make fresh order
redefining the area which is to be a	Scheduled Area.	5. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the
the Constitution Sixth Schedule of the Constitution	(Amendment) Act, in its application to the States of	1988 Tripura and Mizoram. These (i)
provided that the Governors shall	act in their discretion in the	discharge of some of their
functions; (ii) made provisions	relating to the application of Acts of	Parliament and the State
Legislatures to autonomous	districts and autonomous regions;	and (iii) provided for a time-limit in
making over the share of royalties	to the District Councils.	6. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the
(Amendment) Act, in its application to the State of	1995 Assam. These (i) provided that the	District Council constituted for the
North Cachar Hills District shall be	called as the North Cachar Hills	Autonomous Council and the
District Council constituted for the	Karbi-Anglong District shall be	called as the Karbi-Anglong
Autonomous Council; (ii) made	provisions for the additional powers	of the North Cachar Hills
Autonomous Council and the Karbi-	Anglong Autonomous Council to	make laws; and (iii) made it
mandatory for the Governor to	consult the North Cachar Hills	Autonomous Council or the Karbi-
Anglong Autonomous Council, as	the case may be, in the exercise of	his discretionary powers.
7. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the	the Constitution Sixth Schedule of the Constitution	(Amendment) Act, in its application to the State of
2003 Assam. This was done to meet the	aspirations of the Bodos in Assam	and in pursuance of the
Memorandum of Settlement signed	between the Central Government,	the Government of Assam and
Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) on	10–02-2003 for a durable solution	to the Bodo issues. In this context,
the Act made the following	provisions : (i) specified the	Bodoland Territorial Areas District in
autonomous selfgoverning body	known as the Bodoland Territorial	Council (BTC) within the state of
Assam; (iii) vested the council with	legislative, administrative and	financial powers in respect of
specified subjects; and (iv) provided	for adequate safeguards for the	non-tribals in the BTC area.
NOTES AND REFERENCES	1. At present (2019), ten states of India have scheduled	areas. These are: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,
Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,	Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.	2. M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, Wadhwa, Fourth
Edition, 1987, p. 236.	3. Ibid, p. 237.	4. Presently (2019), there are a total of ten tribal areas.
See Table 41.1.	5. The power of direction, in this regard, lies either with the	president or governor. Thus, in the case of Assam, it lies
with the Governor, both in respect of acts of Parliament	or state legislature. In the case of Meghalaya, Tripura	and Mizoram, it lies with the president in respect of acts
PART-VII	CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES	42. Election Commission
43. Union Public Service Commission	44. State Public Service Commission	45. Finance Commission
46. Goods and Services Tax Council	47. National Commission for SCs	48. National Commission for STs
49. National Commission for BCs	50. Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities	51. Comptroller and Auditor General of India
42 Election Commission	T	he Election Commission is a permanent and an
independent body established by the Constitution of India	directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country.	Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of
superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament,	state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of	vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission.
Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense	that it is common to both the Central government and the state	governments.
It must be noted here that the election commission is not	concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in	the states. For this, the Constitution of India provides for a
COMPOSITION	Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions	with regard to the composition of election commission:
1. The Election Commission shall consist of the chief election	commissioner and such number of other election	commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to
time fix.	2. The appointment of the chief election commissioner and	other election commissioners shall be made by the
president.	3. When any other election commissioner is so appointed, the	chief election commissioner shall act as the chairman of the
election commission.	4. The president may also appoint after consultation with the	election commission such regional commissioners as he
may consider necessary to assist the election commission.	5. The conditions of service and tenure of office of the election	commissioners and the regional commissioners shall be
determined by the president.	Since its inception in 1950 and till 15 October 1989, the election	commission functioned as a single member body consisting of the
Chief Election Commissioner. On 16 October 1989, the president	appointed two more election commissioners to cope with the	increased work of the election commission on account of lowering
of the voting age from 21 to 18 years.2 Thereafter, the Election	Commission functioned as a multimember body consisting of	three election commissioners. However, the two posts of election
commissioners were abolished in January 1990 and the Election	Commission was reverted to the earlier position. Again in October	1993, the president appointed two more election commissioners.
Since then and till today, the Election Commission has been	functioning as a multi-member body consisting of three election	commissioners.
The chief election commissioner and the two other election	commissioners have equal powers and receive equal salary,	allowances and other perquisites, which are similar to those of a
judge of the Supreme Court.3 In case of difference of opinion	amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and/or two other	election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Commission
by majority.	They hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the	age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They can resign at any time
INDEPENDENCE	Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions	to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial
functioning of the Election Commission:	1. The chief election commissioner is provided with the security	of tenure. He cannot be removed from his office except in
same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the	Supreme Court. In other words, he can be removed by the	president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect
by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority,	either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.	Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the
president, though he is appointed by him.	2. The service conditions of the chief election commissioner	cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.
3. Any other election commissioner or a regional commissioner	cannot be removed from office except on the	recommendation of the chief election commissioner.
Though the constitution has sought to safeguard and ensure	the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission,	some flaws can be noted, viz.,
1. The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications (legal,	educational, administrative or judicial) of the members of the	Election Commission.
2. The Constitution has not specified the term of the members	of the Election Commission.	3. The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election
POWERS AND FUNCTIONS	The powers and functions of the Election Commission with regard	to elections to the Parliament, state legislatures and offices of
President and Vice-President can be classified into three	categories, viz,	1. Administrative
2. Advisory	3. Quasi-Judicial	In detail, these powers and functions are:
1. To determine the territorial areas of the electoral	constituencies throughout the country on the basis of the	Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.4
2. To prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls and to	register all eligible voters.	3. To notify the dates and schedules of elections and to
scrutinise nomination papers.	4. To grant recognition to political parties and allot election	symbols to them.
5. To act as a court for settling disputes related to granting of	recognition to political parties and allotment of election	symbols to them.
6. To appoint officers for inquiring into disputes relating to	electoral arrangements.	7. To determine the code of conduct to be observed by the
parties and the candidates at the time of elections.	8. To prepare a roster for publicity of the policies of the political	parties on radio and TV in times of elections.
9. To advise the president on matters relating to the	disqualifications of the members of Parliament.	10. To advise the governor on matters relating to the
disqualifications of the members of state legislature.	11. To cancel polls in the event of rigging, booth capturing,	violence and other irregularities.
13. To supervise the machinery of elections throughout the	country to ensure free and fair elections.	14. To advise the president whether elections can be held in a
state under president’s rule in order to extend the period of	emergency after one year.	15. To register political parties for the purpose of elections and
grant them the status of national or state parties on the basis	of their poll performance5 .	The Election Commission is assisted by deputy election
commissioners. They are drawn from the civil service and	appointed by the commission with tenure system. They are	assisted, in turn, by the secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy
secretaries and under secretaries posted in the secretariat of the	commission.	At the state level, the Election Commission is assisted by the
chief electoral officer who is appointed by the chief election	commissioner in consultation with the state government. Below	this, at the district level, the collector acts as the district returning
officer. He appoints a returning officer for every constituency in the	district and presiding officer for every polling booth in the	constituency.
VISION, MISSION AND PRINCIPLES6	Vision	The Election Commission of India strives to be an Institution of
Excellence by enhancing active engagement, participation; and	deepening and strengthening electoral democracy in India and	globally.
Mission	The Election Commission of India maintains independence,	integrity and autonomy; ensures accessibility, inclusiveness, and
ethical participation of stakeholders; and, adopts highest	standards of professionalism for delivering free, fair, and	transparent elections to strengthen the trust in electoral
democracy and governance.	Guiding Principles	The Commission has laid down for itself guiding principles of good

10. The governor can appoint a commission to examine and

report on any matter relating to the administration of the

autonomous districts or regions. He may dissolve a district

or regional council on the recommendation of the

commission.

Table 41.1 Tribal Areas at a Glance (2019)

States Tribal Areas

1. Assam 1. The North Cachar Hills District.

2. The Karbi Anglong District.

2. Meghalaya 1. Khasi Hills District.

2. Jaintia Hills District.

3. The Garo Hills District.

3. Tripura Tripura Tribal Areas District.

4. Mizoram 1. The Chakma District.

2. The Mara District.

3. The Lai District.

Table 41.2 Articles Related to Scheduled and Tribal Areas at a

Glance

Article No. Subject-matter

244. Administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal

Areas

244A. Formation of an autonomous state comprising

certain tribal areas in Assam and creation of local

legislature or Council of Ministers or both therefore

339. Control of the Union over the administration of

Scheduled Areas and the welfare of Scheduled

Tribes

Table 41.3 Parliamentary Laws Related to the Fifth and Sixth

Schedules of the Constitution

Sl. Acts Provisions

No.

1. Lushai Hills District Renamed the Lushai Hills District

(Change of Name) as the Mizo District. The Lushai

Act, 1954 Hills District was one of the six

autonomous districts in the tribal

areas of Assam specified in the

Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

2. Government of Amended the Sixth Schedule of the

Union Territories constitution to include certain

(Amendment) Act, autonomous districts and

1971 autonomous regions of the Union

Territory of Mizoram.

3. Repealing and Repealed certain enactments and

Amending Act, 1974 amended certain other enactments.

It also substituted the words “cattle

pounds” for “cattle ponds” in the

Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.

4. Fifth Schedule to the Empowered the President of India:

Constitution (i) to increase the area of any

(Amendment) Act, Scheduled Area in a State after

1976 consultation with the Governor of

that state; and (ii) to rescind any

order made for the designation of

an area in any state to be a

Scheduled Area, or in consultation

with the Governor of the State

concerned, make fresh order

redefining the area which is to be a

Scheduled Area.

5. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the

the Constitution Sixth Schedule of the Constitution

(Amendment) Act, in its application to the States of

1988 Tripura and Mizoram. These (i)

provided that the Governors shall

act in their discretion in the

discharge of some of their

functions; (ii) made provisions

relating to the application of Acts of

Parliament and the State

Legislatures to autonomous

districts and autonomous regions;

and (iii) provided for a time-limit in

making over the share of royalties

to the District Councils.

6. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the

(Amendment) Act, in its application to the State of

1995 Assam. These (i) provided that the

District Council constituted for the

North Cachar Hills District shall be

called as the North Cachar Hills

Autonomous Council and the

District Council constituted for the

Karbi-Anglong District shall be

called as the Karbi-Anglong

Autonomous Council; (ii) made

provisions for the additional powers

of the North Cachar Hills

Autonomous Council and the Karbi-

Anglong Autonomous Council to

make laws; and (iii) made it

mandatory for the Governor to

consult the North Cachar Hills

Autonomous Council or the Karbi-

Anglong Autonomous Council, as

the case may be, in the exercise of

his discretionary powers.

7. Sixth Schedule to Included certain modifications in the

the Constitution Sixth Schedule of the Constitution

(Amendment) Act, in its application to the State of

2003 Assam. This was done to meet the

aspirations of the Bodos in Assam

and in pursuance of the

Memorandum of Settlement signed

between the Central Government,

the Government of Assam and

Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) on

10–02-2003 for a durable solution

to the Bodo issues. In this context,

the Act made the following

provisions : (i) specified the

Bodoland Territorial Areas District in

autonomous selfgoverning body

known as the Bodoland Territorial

Council (BTC) within the state of

Assam; (iii) vested the council with

legislative, administrative and

financial powers in respect of

specified subjects; and (iv) provided

for adequate safeguards for the

non-tribals in the BTC area.

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. At present (2019), ten states of India have scheduled

areas. These are: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana,

Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh,

Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan.

2. M.P. Jain, Indian Constitutional Law, Wadhwa, Fourth

Edition, 1987, p. 236.

3. Ibid, p. 237.

4. Presently (2019), there are a total of ten tribal areas.

See Table 41.1.

5. The power of direction, in this regard, lies either with the

president or governor. Thus, in the case of Assam, it lies

with the Governor, both in respect of acts of Parliament

or state legislature. In the case of Meghalaya, Tripura

and Mizoram, it lies with the president in respect of acts

PART-VII

CONSTITUTIONAL BODIES

42. Election Commission

43. Union Public Service Commission

44. State Public Service Commission

45. Finance Commission

46. Goods and Services Tax Council

47. National Commission for SCs

48. National Commission for STs

49. National Commission for BCs

50. Special Officer for Linguistic Minorities

51. Comptroller and Auditor General of India

42 Election Commission

T

he Election Commission is a permanent and an

independent body established by the Constitution of India

directly to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

Article 324 of the Constitution provides that the power of

superintendence, direction and control of elections to parliament,

state legislatures, the office of president of India and the office of

vice-president of India shall be vested in the election commission.

Thus, the Election Commission is an all-India body in the sense

that it is common to both the Central government and the state

governments.

It must be noted here that the election commission is not

concerned with the elections to panchayats and municipalities in

the states. For this, the Constitution of India provides for a

COMPOSITION

Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions

with regard to the composition of election commission:

1. The Election Commission shall consist of the chief election

commissioner and such number of other election

commissioners, if any, as the president may from time to

time fix.

2. The appointment of the chief election commissioner and

other election commissioners shall be made by the

president.

3. When any other election commissioner is so appointed, the

chief election commissioner shall act as the chairman of the

election commission.

4. The president may also appoint after consultation with the

election commission such regional commissioners as he

may consider necessary to assist the election commission.

5. The conditions of service and tenure of office of the election

commissioners and the regional commissioners shall be

determined by the president.

Since its inception in 1950 and till 15 October 1989, the election

commission functioned as a single member body consisting of the

Chief Election Commissioner. On 16 October 1989, the president

appointed two more election commissioners to cope with the

increased work of the election commission on account of lowering

of the voting age from 21 to 18 years.2 Thereafter, the Election

Commission functioned as a multimember body consisting of

three election commissioners. However, the two posts of election

commissioners were abolished in January 1990 and the Election

Commission was reverted to the earlier position. Again in October

1993, the president appointed two more election commissioners.

Since then and till today, the Election Commission has been

functioning as a multi-member body consisting of three election

commissioners.

The chief election commissioner and the two other election

commissioners have equal powers and receive equal salary,

allowances and other perquisites, which are similar to those of a

judge of the Supreme Court.3 In case of difference of opinion

amongst the Chief Election Commissioner and/or two other

election commissioners, the matter is decided by the Commission

by majority.

They hold office for a term of six years or until they attain the

age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. They can resign at any time

INDEPENDENCE

Article 324 of the Constitution has made the following provisions

to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial

functioning of the Election Commission:

1. The chief election commissioner is provided with the security

of tenure. He cannot be removed from his office except in

same manner and on the same grounds as a judge of the

Supreme Court. In other words, he can be removed by the

president on the basis of a resolution passed to that effect

by both the Houses of Parliament with special majority,

either on the ground of proved misbehaviour or incapacity.

Thus, he does not hold his office till the pleasure of the

president, though he is appointed by him.

2. The service conditions of the chief election commissioner

cannot be varied to his disadvantage after his appointment.

3. Any other election commissioner or a regional commissioner

cannot be removed from office except on the

recommendation of the chief election commissioner.

Though the constitution has sought to safeguard and ensure

the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission,

some flaws can be noted, viz.,

1. The Constitution has not prescribed the qualifications (legal,

educational, administrative or judicial) of the members of the

Election Commission.

2. The Constitution has not specified the term of the members

of the Election Commission.

3. The Constitution has not debarred the retiring election

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

The powers and functions of the Election Commission with regard

to elections to the Parliament, state legislatures and offices of

President and Vice-President can be classified into three

categories, viz,

1. Administrative

2. Advisory

3. Quasi-Judicial

In detail, these powers and functions are:

1. To determine the territorial areas of the electoral

constituencies throughout the country on the basis of the

Delimitation Commission Act of Parliament.4

2. To prepare and periodically revise electoral rolls and to

register all eligible voters.

3. To notify the dates and schedules of elections and to

scrutinise nomination papers.

4. To grant recognition to political parties and allot election

symbols to them.

5. To act as a court for settling disputes related to granting of

recognition to political parties and allotment of election

symbols to them.

6. To appoint officers for inquiring into disputes relating to

electoral arrangements.

7. To determine the code of conduct to be observed by the

parties and the candidates at the time of elections.

8. To prepare a roster for publicity of the policies of the political

parties on radio and TV in times of elections.

9. To advise the president on matters relating to the

disqualifications of the members of Parliament.

10. To advise the governor on matters relating to the

disqualifications of the members of state legislature.

11. To cancel polls in the event of rigging, booth capturing,

violence and other irregularities.

13. To supervise the machinery of elections throughout the

country to ensure free and fair elections.

14. To advise the president whether elections can be held in a

state under president’s rule in order to extend the period of

emergency after one year.

15. To register political parties for the purpose of elections and

grant them the status of national or state parties on the basis

of their poll performance5 .

The Election Commission is assisted by deputy election

commissioners. They are drawn from the civil service and

appointed by the commission with tenure system. They are

assisted, in turn, by the secretaries, joint secretaries, deputy

secretaries and under secretaries posted in the secretariat of the

commission.

At the state level, the Election Commission is assisted by the

chief electoral officer who is appointed by the chief election

commissioner in consultation with the state government. Below

this, at the district level, the collector acts as the district returning

officer. He appoints a returning officer for every constituency in the

district and presiding officer for every polling booth in the

constituency.

VISION, MISSION AND PRINCIPLES6

Vision

The Election Commission of India strives to be an Institution of

Excellence by enhancing active engagement, participation; and

deepening and strengthening electoral democracy in India and

globally.

Mission

The Election Commission of India maintains independence,

integrity and autonomy; ensures accessibility, inclusiveness, and

ethical participation of stakeholders; and, adopts highest

standards of professionalism for delivering free, fair, and

transparent elections to strengthen the trust in electoral

democracy and governance.

Guiding Principles

The Commission has laid down for itself guiding principles of good