The Supreme Court will urgently hear a plea from an NGO challenging the validity of the provision in the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act 2023. The plea questions the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from the panel responsible for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear a plea from an NGO on Friday (March 15), challenging the exclusion of the Chief Justice of India from a panel responsible for selecting the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and other election commissioners.

The plea was filed by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, questioning validity of a provision in 'Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act 2023' which states that the selection panel will be chaired by the Prime Minister, leader of opposition and a PM-nominated union minister.

The plea was urgently listed for Friday after lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO, requested the same. A bench headed by Justice Sanjiv Khanna took note of the submissions. “I just got the message from the CJI that it will be listed on Friday,” Justice Khanna said.

Election Commissioner Arun Goel's recent resignation prompted the NGO to approach the SC.