The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition that challenged the appointment of Arun Goel as Election Commissioner and observed that the matter had already been heard by a Constitution Bench in March, which did not pass any adverse orders against Goel.
The Bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice S.V.N. Bhatti passed the orders while rejecting a public interest litigation filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The Apex Court observed that it would not be appropriate for the Court to interfere now. It said since the Constitution Bench has already examined the matter, it would not be correct to go for a second round.
Appearing for the NGO, Advocate Prashant Bhushan requested the Apex Court to go through the selection process by summoning the requisite files.
However, the top court of the country pointed out that this course has already been adopted by the Constitution Bench and that there was no reason to go through the file and details of the case again.
The Bench further said that it would amount to stepping into their (Constitution Bench) shoes virtually.
The five-Judge Constitution Bench had ruled on March 2 that election commissioners and the chief election commissioner will henceforth be chosen by a panel comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP), and the Chief Justice of India (CJI), till the Parliament passed a law on the appointments.