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The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on whether the pleas challenging the validity of the 2023 law relating to the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners, which dropped the CJI from the selection panel for Election Commissioners, should be referred to a larger five-judge bench.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the Centre and petitioners to file written submissions in this regard. The bench said, "We are reserving judgment on the reference. You can provide your written arguments." The apex court was hearing arguments on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which excludes the CJI from the selection panel for appointing Election Commissioners. In 2024, the apex court had declined to put on hold the two Election Commissioners' appointment under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023. The pleas were filed in the apex court seeking a stay on the Act by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Jaya Thakur (General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee), Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram, Dharmendra Singh Kushwaha, and advocate Gopal Singh. The petitions stated that the provisions of the enactment are violative of the principle of free and fair elections since it does not provide an "independent mechanism" for appointment of the members of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The petitions said the Act excludes the Chief Justice of India from the process of appointment of the members of ECI and it's in violation of the March 2, 2023 verdict of the top court which had ordered that the appointment of members of the ECI be done on the advice of a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the CJI and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha till a law is made by the Parliament. By excluding the CJI from the process, the judgement of the Supreme Court stands diluted as the Prime Minister, and his nominee, will always be "the deciding factor" in the appointments, said the petitions. The petitions in particular challenged Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023. The provisions lay down the procedure for the appointment of ECI members. They sought direction to the Centre to include the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee for the appointment of the CEC and ECs, which currently comprises of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister. The Act replaced the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991. (ANI)
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