Supreme Court to hear pleas challenging the law that excludes the Chief Justice of India from the panel appointing Election Commissioners on November 11, examining the constitutional validity and impact of this significant change in the appointment process.
The Supreme Court postponed the hearing of multiple petitions challenging the legitimacy of the law concerning the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners.
This law excludes the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel for these positions.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stated that the case would be addressed on November 11.
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The hearing could not take place due to time constraints.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), brought the case to the bench’s attention, noting that it has been scheduled multiple times without being heard.
Justice Kant suggested that the matter could be rementioned on the morning of November 11, allowing the bench to defer non-urgent cases that day.
This issue has faced several adjournments.
Earlier, In 2024, the Supreme Court declined to suspend the appointments of two Election Commissioners under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The petitions were filed by the ADR, Jaya Thakur (General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee), as well as by Sanjay Narayanrao Meshram, Dharmendra Singh Kushwaha, and advocate Gopal Singh.
They contest the law that removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection panel for appointing the CEC and other Election Commissioners (ECs).
The petitions argue that the provisions of this law violate the principle of free and fair elections, as it lacks an “independent mechanism” for appointing members of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Specifically, they highlight that the Act’s exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the appointment process contravenes the Supreme Court’s ruling on March 2, 2023, which mandated that ECI members should be appointed based on recommendations from a committee featuring the Prime Minister, the CJI, and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha until parliamentary legislation is enacted.
By omitting the CJI from this process, the petitions claim, the Supreme Court’s judgment is effectively undermined, as the Prime Minister and their nominee will always play a decisive role in appointments.
The petitions particularly challenge Sections 7 and 8 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service, and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which outline the procedure for appointing ECI members.
They seek a directive from the Centre to reinstate the Chief Justice of India in the selection committee, which currently consists of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
This Act replaces the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991.
Case Title: Dr Jaya Thakur & Ors. v. Union of India & Anr. | Writ Petition (Civil) No. 14 of 2024 (and connected cases)