The Election Commission of India began as a single‑member body when Sukumar Sen presided over the first general election in 1951‑52. It remained that way until 16 October 1986, when the Commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner. In 1991 the Supreme Court, in S.S. Dhanoa v. Union of India, held that Article 342(2) of the Constitution allows the President to appoint as many Election Commissioners as he wishes, though a multi‑member commission is desirable. The Rajiv Gandhi administration followed this view in October 1989, appointing S.S. Dhanoa and V.S. Seigell to join Chief Election Commissioner R.V.S. Peri Sastry. The move was later rolled back by the V.P. Singh government, and Dhanoa’s challenge in court confirmed that the President’s discretion governs the number of commissioners.
The Commission returned to a three‑member structure on 1 October 1993 when President appoints M.S. Gill and G.V.G. Krishnamurthy. An ordinance, later enacted as the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners (Condition of Service) Amendment Act, gave the commissioners coordinate powers and clarified the constitutional grey area. In a separate case, Chief Election Commissioner T.N. Seshan contested the appointments of two commissioners, and a Constitution Bench ruled that the Commission must act unanimously, with a majority deciding in case of disagreement. The Bench also clarified that the CEC’s permanent status does not confer higher authority over non‑permanent members.
In 2009 the Commission was again embroiled in conflict when Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami, following a BJP petition, recommended the removal of Election Commissioner Navin Chawla on grounds of bias. Gopalaswami’s recommendation, based on his own observations, was rejected by President Pratibha Patil. The Supreme Court had earlier held that the CEC cannot unilaterally remove a commissioner without proper channels, a view that Gopalaswami departed from.
The most recent dispute involves Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, who have challenged his style of functioning. Earlier, in 2019, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa wrote to CEC Sunil Arora to question why his dissenting opinions were not recorded in a 2019 order against BJP candidate Gulab Chand Kataria. The Commission later decided that dissenting views would not be included in final orders, a decision that led to Lavasa’s resignation in August 2020.
