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Bar and Bench
https://www.barandbench.com/news/challenge-law-appointment-election-commissioners-to-heard-supreme-court-march-15
Author
Debayan Roy
Date

The matter was mentioned today before a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna by advocate Prashant Bhushan appearing for Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The challenge to the law excluding the Chief Justice of India (CJI) from the panel to select Election Commissioners, will be heard by the Supreme Court on March 15, Friday.

The matter was mentioned today before a bench led by Justice Sanjiv Khanna by advocate Prashant Bhushan on behalf of NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners in the case.

The bench said that it had received a message from CJI DY Chandrachud and would list the plea for hearing this Friday.

"We got a message from the Chief Justice of India. We will list this on Friday," Justice Khanna said.

The apex court is yet to decide on petitions challenging the validity of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service And Term of Office) Act, 2023 (CEC Act) which drew controversy for its omission of the CJI from the panel tasked with selecting the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.

The Supreme Court has twice refused to stay the new law, which allows appointment to the posts of CEC and Election Commissioners by a selection committee comprising the Prime Minister (PM), a Union Cabinet Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The law was challenged before the Supreme Court by Dr. Jaya Thakur on concerns that the ruling government would dominate the new selection panel.

As per the plea, the Act is in violation of the Supreme Court’s judgment in the case of Anoop Baranwal v. Union of India and ors, which had called for the inclusion of the Chief Justice of India in the appointment process.

In January this year, the Supreme Court sought the responses of the Central government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to the plea. ADR's plea is also being heard along with with Thakur's plea.


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