New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday reserved its judgment on whether the pleas challenging the law for regulating appointment procedures of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the deputies need to be referred to a larger five-judge bench.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Satish Chandra Sharma asked the petitioners and the Centre to file written submissions in this regard. "We are reserving judgment on the reference. You can provide your written arguments," the bench said. The top court was hearing a clutch of petitions 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 Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the selection panel for appointing election commissioners (ECs). Under the 2023 Act, the selection committee consists of the prime minister, a Union minister nominated by the prime minister and the leader of opposition or leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. The PILs said the exclusion of the CJI from the panel undermines the independence of the appointment process. The law has been challenged by multiple petitioners, including Congress leader Jaya Thakur and the Association for Democratic Reforms.
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