The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, adjourned the hearing till April 16 on the pleas challenging the new law that removes the chief justice of India from the selection panel appointing election commissioners. A bench headed by Justice Suryakant and N. Koteshwar said they will give only a day hearing to this case.
The top court is seized of petitions filed by Congress leader Jaya Thakur, the Association for Democratic Reforms, and others, challenging the constitutionality of various provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023.
The new law excluding the chief justice from the selection committee triggered criticism for alleged executive overreach and encroachment on the election commission's autonomy.
The petitions raise the question of whether the Parliament possessed the authority to promulgate a gazette notification or ordinance to nullify or amend a constitution bench judgement.
The petitions have primarily challenged the validity of section 7 (1) of the statute. This provision mandated that the President would approach the chief election commissioner and the election commissioners on the recommendation of a selection committee of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Parliament and a Union cabinet minister to be nominated by the prime minister.
The crux of the current batch of petitions revolves around the contention that the 2023 Act overturns the constitution bench decision on March 2, 2023 in Anoop Baranwal v Union of India.
In this case, it was observed that leaving the appointment of election commission members in the hands of the executive would be detrimental to the health of democracy and the conduct of free and fair elections.
Accordingly, the court had directed that appointments to the posts of chief election commissioner and election commissioners should be made by the President on the basis of the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, and chief justice of India.
However, the 2023 Act replaces the chief justice of India with a Union cabinet minister nominated by the prime minister. The petitioners argue that this change makes the selection process vulnerable to executive influence.
What does the Act say?
The Act, which received approval from the Lok Sabha on December 21 and the Rajya Sabha on December 12, replaces the Election Commission (Conditions of Service of Election Commissioners and Transaction of Business) Act, 1991, introducing key changes to the appointment, salary, and removal procedures for top election officials.
The key feature of the new legislation is that the President of India would appoint the election commissioners on the strength of a selection committee's recommendation, prepared after considering a list of candidates proposed by a search committee headed by the Union law minister.
According to Section 7, the selection committee would consist 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.
Section 8 empowers the panel to regulate its own procedure in a transparent manner, and even consider persons other than those suggested by the search committee.
This development came after a constitution bench led by Justice (Retd) K.M. Joseph directed election commissioners to be appointed by the President of India on the advice of a committee consisting of the prime minister, the leader of the opposition or the largest opposition party's leader, and the chief justice of India.
