The Supreme Court has adjourned to November 11 the hearing of petitions challenging the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which removes the Chief Justice of India from the committee responsible for appointing Election Commissioners.
The matter came up before a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, but it could not be taken up due to time constraints. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, requested that the case be allocated a few hours for arguments, to which the bench agreed, scheduling it for the morning of November 11.
The petitions contest the legality of the 2023 Act, which altered the appointment process by constituting a panel consisting of the Prime Minister, a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha. The exclusion of the Chief Justice of India, the petitioners argue, undermines the independence and impartiality of the Election Commission.
They contend that the law contradicts the Supreme Court’s 2023 judgment in Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India, which had called for the inclusion of the CJI in the selection panel to safeguard the autonomy of the poll body.
Petitions filed by Dr. Jaya Thakur, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), and others seek to strike down the law as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court had previously refused to stay the operation of the Act in March 2024. The upcoming hearing is expected to address key issues concerning the transparency and independence of the Election Commission’s appointment process.