‘Hearing in November, Not before’, SC Refuses Expedited Hearing on Pleas on Law on Appointment of CEC, ECs

The petitioners' advocates objected to long adjournment in the matter relating to CECs and ECs. However, the Supreme Court refused to expedite the hearing on the petitions challenging the validity of the new law providing for the appointment of CEC and ECs by a panel, which does not include CJI.

New Delhi :The Supreme Court on Friday refused to expedite the hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the validity of the new law providing for the appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs) by a panel, which does not include the Chief Justice of India (CJI).

A bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justice Sanjay Kumar said the Centre has to file an affidavit, and the court will give six weeks more to the government to file its response. Senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Sanjay Parikh, and advocates Prashant Bhushan and Varun Thakur, representing the petitioners', objected to long adjournment in the matter.

The counsel argued that in March 2023, a judgment was delivered by a constitution bench, which outlined how the CEC and ECs were to be appointed. The counsel insisted that the Centre is bound by this judgment. The bench said there were general elections in the country, and the government would have been busy with that. “They are also interested in the matter. After all, they are the ones who have brought this new legislation”, said the bench.

A counsel argued that the matter is simple because there is a constitution bench judgment on the point and pressed that there cannot be any deviation. However, the bench said it is not willing to entertain petitioners’ counsel request for an early hearing and told the counsel that the matter can be heard only in the last week of November.

The petitioners’ urged the court to advance the hearing in the matter against the backdrop of the settled legal position in the matter. After hearing submissions, the apex court deferred the hearing in the week commencing on November 25.

Petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the validity of new law on appointment of chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (ECs).

In December 2023, the Centre enacted The Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023.

The new law has replaced the Chief Justice of India by a minister on a panel to be set up for the purpose of selecting the CEC and ECs, which is directly in conflict with a judgment delivered by the apex court.

The constitution bench judgment in Anoop Baranwal vs. Union of India had said that the selection of CEC and ECs should be done by a panel headed by the Prime Minister and comprising two other members—the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and the CJI—to ensure transparency in the selection mechanism.