Election Commission Transaction of Business

The transaction-of-business rule governs collective decision-making in a multi-member Election Commission of India. Under Section 10 of the 1991 Act, the Commission should seek unanimity, but a disagreement is decided by the majority opinion.

Decision-making under the 1991 Act

The Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991 established a two-stage approach: consensus is preferred, while majority rule resolves differences.

• The Commission could regulate its procedure and allocate work among the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners through a unanimous decision.
• All business was required to be transacted unanimously as far as possible.
• If members differed on any matter, Section 10(3) required it to be decided according to the opinion of the majority.

Position of the Chief Election Commissioner

Under Article 324(3), the Chief Election Commissioner acts as Chairman when other Election Commissioners are appointed. However, chairmanship does not provide a unilateral veto or casting vote under the transaction-of-business provision.

• In a three-member Commission, a disagreement can therefore be resolved by a 2-1 majority.
• The Supreme Court in T.N. Seshan v. Union of India (1995) upheld the multi-member arrangement and recognized collective decision-making by majority.

Present statutory position

The 2023 Act repealed the 1991 Act, but retained substantially the same decision rule in Section 17: procedure and allocation of business are regulated unanimously, business should be unanimous as far as possible, and differences are settled by majority opinion.