GUWAHATI: The Supreme Court has agreed to hear petitions challenging the appointment procedure of Election Commissioners under the new Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023 (Act) on March 15.
The petitions, filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and Dr Jaya Thakur (General Secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Mahila Congress Committee), were mentioned before a Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, MM Sundresh, and Bela M Trivedi, as reported by Live Law.
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On March 12, the plea was initially mentioned by Advocate Prashant Bhushan on behalf of ADR for urgent listing. However, Justice Khanna advised following proper procedure by moving a mentioning slip.
Justice Khanna on March 13 informed that the petitions are listed for Friday, stating, "I just got the message from the Chief Justice, the matters are listed for Friday."
This development comes amid Election Commissioner Arun Goel's resignation and the expected filling of vacancies in the Election Commission by March 15 through a high-level selection panel headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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The petitioners have filed interlocutory applications seeking to direct the Union to immediately appoint a new member of the Election Commission in accordance with Anoop Baranwal's decision (2023). This decision directed that appointments to the posts of chief election commissioner and election commissioners should be made by the president based on the advice tendered by a committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India, as reported by Live Law.
ADR's PIL under Article 32 of the Constitution specifically challenges Section 7 of the Act for allegedly violating Article 14 and the basic features of the Constitution. This section outlines the appointment process, stating that the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners shall be appointed by the president on the recommendation of a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister as chairperson, the Leader of Opposition in the House of the People as a member, and a Union Cabinet Minister nominated by the Prime Minister as another member, Live Law further reported.
